Dismissed
by YulianaHenderson
Summary: "'Do you dislike being proven wrong, Mr. Jane' 'I'm hardly wrong, so I am not used to this feeling.' She huffed and rolled her eyes, but she wasn't surprised that he thought this way. Judging by the way his mind had worked during the few weeks they had known each other now, he was undoubtedly always the smartest person in the room." AU, eventual Jisbon and other ships. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there! Long time no see! I have been pretty much absent from FanFiction for a long time now, mostly due to my final internship that started in late March, and my final exams before graduation... In between working four 8,5 hour shifts in a row and ordering way too much make-up, I sometimes find time to write some lines for this story.**

 **So I started writing this story a long time ago, I guess since the beginning of last summer, but never actually had the courage to post anything, afraid that nobody would like it. I have finished about 35 pages of this fic so far, so I thought it was about time to see if people were interested in this story idea - otherwise, it would be a giant waste of time to continue writing it! So here you go, the first sneak peek into this story line, and I hope you like it!**

 **Fair warning: this story is an AU, so if you were hoping to find some canon stuff here, you're at the wrong place.**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 1**_

"Dismissed," Kimball Cho said, followed by the relieved sighs of about 28 teenagers. Mobile phones appeared, hoodies were returned to their original place and the separated friends were reunited once again. No matter what he would do or say, these kids wouldn't listen.

"Mr. Kimball?" His students knew not to use too many words around him, seeing as he would cut them off halfway through anyway, if he noticed the excessive details weren't really important. He turned to the person the voice belonged to and just stared at her. They knew what it meant. "I have an older sister who is into older men, perhaps she's something for you?"

"Out."

The girl returned to her friends whilst giggling, and the young girls joined gladly. Of course, Cho couldn't help but smile, even though it was just a small one.

Older sisters, former teachers, mothers and even grandmothers, he'd had all the invitations, sometimes even arguably appropriate, but these students didn't care. He could laugh about it, too, but he knew that if he were to start a relationship with somebody, it most certainly wouldn't be through his students.

"Just think about it, Sir! You haven't even seen her!"

Cho picked up his bag and his recently used textbooks and walked towards the door.

"Elyse seems to forget that I would become her brother-in-law."

All the girls started laughing except for the mentioned Elyse, who went pale and started shaking her head.

"N-never mind."

She ran nearly faster than a gazelle chased by its siblings. The other girls followed her, still laughing and giggling.

Cho closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Hey Cho," a familiar voice said.

"Wylie."

"Which grade did you have?"

"Grade 9."

"Ouch."

They turned right in the direction of the teacher's lounge.

"I had 10. Did you know that Cynthia Pebble has a new boyfriend? I do now. She couldn't stop talking about him."

"She's not the only one with that problem."

Wylie gave him a glare from the side but then disregarded that statement.

"I sometimes have no idea what to do with these kids from 10. For some reason they don't want to listen to a single word I say when it suits them."

Cho knew why – Wylie was too young. Rookies never did well in this school, in any high school really. It had nothing to do with his capabilities. Honestly, Wylie was a damn good teacher who knew his subject well but then again, it might be his subject, too. Cho had never liked IT related subjects either.

"Hey, did you know we'll be getting a new English teacher today?"

Cho opened the door and let Wylie enter first.

"Whom is he replacing?"

"Rose Harding. She's on maternity leave, but something tells me she won't be coming back."

They made a quick pit stop at the coffee machine and then sat down in their standard booth in the lounge.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Teresa!" Wylie said enthusiastically and scooted over a little bit so that she could sit down, too.

Jason Wylie, 23 years old. This was his second year at the high school and he fits in, but well, he's simply too young for the moment, especially to teach the older years. He was quite the talker, but Cho let him. Frankly, he didn't really mind listening to him. Wylie was a good guy, after all, and a good IT teacher.

Teresa Lisbon, English teacher, age unknown as of yet. He'd never had the courage to ask, but he didn't really care either. All he knew was that she was older than him and had been working at the school for almost fifteen years, after having been transferred from another school for unknown reasons. Again, he didn't really care.

And then himself: Kimball Cho, 36 years old, former soldier turned Math teacher. Even he didn't know how he'd ended up here, but there was something about teaching that made him feel at home. Perhaps it was helping these young people prepare for their future, or passing down his own knowledge. In any case, he enjoyed this life.

"Jacob Hobbs has a girlfriend, I heard," Lisbon stated while taking a sip from her coffee, quickly realizing that it was still too hot. She was a generally patient woman except when it came to her coffee. Cho had quickly learned not to disturb her during the breaks before she'd poured herself the hot beverage.

"Any chance it's Cynthia Pebbles?"

"Could be. He didn't mention a name, just texted her all the time. Well, I assume it was her anyway, he was smiling at his phone all the time. Shame I had to confiscate it."

Wylie chuckled and Cho smiled while taking a sip of his own coffee. She was such a romantic – not.

There was not a lot he knew about Teresa Lisbon, even though he had known her for almost a decade now. Then again, he was certain she didn't know a lot about him either. Despite all of that, though, she was one of his best friends, if not his best. He trusted her and looked up to her, as if she was his boss or sister.

"How's Michelle?"

Wylie's cheerful mood from before faded quickly and he gave a mere shrug.

"Hell, I dunno," he murmured. He focused on his coffee. "I've tried calling her but she won't pick up. I don't know what I did wrong." He sighed. "Whatever."

Wylie acted like he didn't care, but it was obvious that he did. They took his feigned disinterest as a hint that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Did you hear about the new English teacher?" Cho asked Lisbon. She put her coffee down.

"No? Will she be replacing Rose Harding?"

Wylie nodded, his sadness forgotten now that he had something to gossip about. "But I've heard it's a _he_."

"Well aren't we glad about that, another guy, just what we needed," Lisbon deadpanned.

Wylie and Cho smiled and the former shrugged.

Suddenly an unknown person sat down at their table. Cho's natural instinct was to reach for a gun that wasn't there, the other two simply stared at the intruder.

"Uhm, hi?" Wylie tried. Oh, for real. They were all adults, if somebody wanted to sit at their table, they should let them.

"Hello. Sorry to interrupt your small talk and gossip like this, just wanted to quickly introduce myself. I'm Patrick Jane, the new English teacher."

Wylie was the first to extend his hand. "I'm Jason Wylie, nice to meet you. I teach IT." Suddenly, Lisbon got up and was about to leave before she seemingly realized they were still introducing. "Teresa Lisbon, English," she added, her mind obviously somewhere else. She left, her coffee and bag still at the table, so it was obvious she would return. They all turned to the direction she had just walked into, to find her talking with one of her students.

"That's a nice name," the recently acquainted man murmured. He turned towards the other men. "You must be Cho? Heard a lot about you, from students. A man of little words but the knowledge of a million. The strict but just man. That Cho."

"Seems about right." He shook the man's hand.

"Kimball Cho."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"If you need any help getting around the school, let us know."

Mr. Jane nodded and got up. "Now that you mention it, where do you store the tea?"

* * *

 **A/N: There you go! I know it's fairly AU but I was just toying around with the idea of Jane and Lisbon meeting in a different setting, accompanied by some of our other favorite characters, and this was the final result. I hope you like it, and let me know if you did!**

 **Also, I like to mention that I'm Dutch and have no real knowledge of how the American school system works. I did ask some of my lovelies on Tumblr for some advice and I used everything they told me, but there are likely still some holes to be filled up. Therefore, if any of the grades and all that jazz don't make a lot of sense, I'm terribly sorry. I will chalk it up to artistic freedom, I suppose.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the encouraging words y'all left! I'm glad to know that this story is interesting to you, and I hope I will not disappoint you. Without further ado, here's chapter two!**

 **Also, big thanks to Theresa who proofread this story!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 2**_

She might not be the harshest teacher in the school, but she knew how to make a group of teenagers listen to her and do what she asked them to do. She cared about them and this particular group of students she had been teaching since freshman. Now they were seniors already. To some of them, she was a second mother. At least she gave them the love and attention that they so desperately craved.

"Good morning to you all."

"Good morning, Ms. Lisbon!" the class said, nearly in unison, putting down their phones and sliding their books to the middle of their tables.

"How are you guys?" An avalanche of different words came her way, but judging from their faces they were all happy and ready to throw their weekend plans and Wednesday evening experiences at her.

"I'm happy to hear that! Anyone have something interesting or important to say before we start?" Some girls turned to their friends to whisper something, some boys shook their heads. All except one student, who was sitting uncomfortably and conspicuously quiet in her chair. Lisbon wouldn't mention it now, but she would pull the girl aside after class to check up on her.

"Nobody? Good, let's start!"

She opened her book and so did the students. She smiled. She loved this group so much. All the other teachers always had trouble keeping these kids in line but it was so easy for her she could hardly imagine how bad they could behave around other tutors.

"Alright, the homework for today was chapter three, paragraph four. Were there any questions about the assignmen-"

A knock on the door interrupted her, and she frowned. She was pretty sure this was her classroom, had been so for nearly fifteen years and if any teacher wanted to discuss something with her they knew they should do it during the break or in the hallways in between classes.

"Just one second," she told the group who took up the opportunity to check their phones and discuss something with their friends. Upon opening the door, she found none other than Mr. Patrick Jane standing outside her classroom.

"Yes?"

"Yes, hi. I'm lost, you mind giving me directions to classroom B214?"

"I'm teaching, actually, so I do mind."

"Oh, which year are you teaching? Are they listening well to the teacher with the nice name?"

She stepped into the hallway when she noticed the group was largely eavesdropping on their conversation, and closed the door behind her. She needed a few moments to clear her thoughts of any annoyance.

"Mr. Jane. I will let it slide for this time, considering you are new and you couldn't have known. But I appreciate not being interrupted when I'm teaching."

Mr. Jane nodded and lowered his head, a solemn emotion on his face.

"I understand."

"Good." She was about to step back into the classroom, then remembered what Mr. Jane was there for. "You take the first right at the end of this corridor, take the stairs in front of you, and then it's on your right behind a big, paper-maché pillar."

He bowed down, making a little wave with his hand. "I thank thee, mysterious Mrs. Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes and stepped back into the classroom where she found a pubescent mess of laughing and giggling and at the top of their lungs screaming teenagers. Great. It would take at least five minutes to calm them down in this state. Thanks, Mr. Jane.

~…~

"Alright kids, you may play on the playground now, enjoy your break!"

"You too, Ms. Lisbon!" some of the students replied. Lisbon smiled.

"Thank you."

She got up and walked towards the door, opened it and looked at the students slowly leaving the classroom. She stopped Sam Houston with a textbook put against his chest, accompanied by a stern look.

"Will you give back Kimberly's pen during the break, Mr. Houston?" The young man turned red and lowered his head. He nodded and quickly left the room. If the students thought that she would tolerate everything just because she was unofficially the school's nicest teacher, they were so wrong.

"Shelby, may I speak with you for a moment?" The girl stopped dead in her tracks, but she didn't hesitate when she turned around. Lisbon waited until the last student left the room before she closed the door and turned towards the only remaining student.

"Are you doing okay?"

The girl entwined her hands and lowered her head, nodding her head. Lisbon had been teaching for nearly fifteen years, she knew children and especially teenagers through and through. There was something bothering this girl's pretty head.

"If there's anything, you know that you can always tell any teacher at this school, okay?"

Shelby nodded. Lisbon held back the urge to sigh.

"Enjoy your break, Shelby."

"You too, Ms. Lisbon." The girl left Lisbon's eyesight and finally, Lisbon let out a sigh. Now she obviously had to know what was going on.

"Ah, mysterious Mrs. Lisbon. I'm glad to notice you here. I'm afraid I am lost again." Before she turned around, she already knew who was talking to her.

"Mr. Jane, I might not be familiar with the concept of good first impressions but I'm certain this is not one that can flatter your actual personality."

"I've never been too interested in first impressions."

"Fair enough. Follow me, then." She led the way to the teacher's lounge, Mr. Jane behind her.

"So, how did you end up at this school?"

"It's a long story that you wouldn't be interested in."

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't."

Mr. Jane smiled at her. "Perhaps I will tell you my tragic backstory later. Let's focus on getting this old man to his tea first."

Lisbon rolled her eyes once again.

"Yes, let's."

They continued their way down the corridors, passing some of the students of her favorite seniors who greeted her.

"Hello, quarter of 12, why aren't you at the playground yet?"

The students merely laughed and closed their lockers, making their way to the schoolyard.

"So what does Mr. Lisbon do for the living?"

Lisbon took a student's cap from his head and put it in his bag.

"There is no Mr. Lisbon, actually."

"Oh really? Another Mrs. Lisbon?" She didn't flatter that question with an answer and moved on.

"Ms. Lisbon, I've been feeling like crying for no reason whatsoever lately, is that normal?"

Martin Garonne, grade 10. Linebacker and surprisingly serious about his education.

"At your age? Yes."

Martin decided to emphasize that answer by feigning a breakdown, raising his hands to the ceiling. Lisbon and Martin's friends, laughed and continued their way.

"How come such a beautiful woman such as yourself doesn't have a Mr. or Mrs.?"

"It's a long story that you wouldn't be interested in."

Mr. Jane smiled at her. This son of a bitch would make her life miserable one way or another, she knew it. For some reason, of all thirty-something teachers who worked at the school, he had chosen her as his buddy. She had to let him know without rudely stating the obvious that she wasn't interested.

~…~

"I hardly saw the new guy today," Wylie said as Lisbon met him on their way out. "I would have liked to talk to him a bit, seems like a nice guy."

Lisbon huffed at that statement.

"He didn't leave a good first impression on me. I saw him multiple times today and I always felt my stomach turn."

Wylie chuckled. "On my first day you wanted to stuff your computer into my-"

"Okay okay," Lisbon interrupted with a smile and raised a hand to stop him. "Point delivered."

Mr. Jane, speak of the devil, passed. Lisbon had hoped he wouldn't notice her and Wylie but he already looked at them.

"Hello Mr. Wylie. Mysterious Mrs. Lisbon. Enjoy your evening."

Without leaving space for them to say anything, he continued walking. As soon as he was out of earshot, Lisbon turned towards him.

"I might cut his head off."

"You were never that aggressive towards me."

"You never called me 'mysterious Mrs. Lisbon'."

"True."

They reached the car park, with only a few cars stationed. The school had just had a 'Go Green' campaign which had triggered a lot of teachers to travel to work with either public transport or even by bike. Not Teresa Lisbon, though. She was practically married to her car. This post-Go Green glow wouldn't last long, anyway.

"See you tomorrow, Teresa."

"Hey," she stopped him before he turned towards the bus stop.

"Don't go to sleep angry. Whatever it is that happened between you and Michelle, don't let it cloud your dreams."

He nodded. "Thank you."

He walked away as she opened the driver's side to her car.

Everyone might have ditched their cars but Wylie didn't even have a driver's license to begin with. She knew that for him it was either a car or a roof above his head. Anyone would choose a roof, obviously.

"Do you need a lift?"

He was at her car as quick as lightning, nodding. She just shook her head and smiled, getting in and starting the car.

A few minutes into the ride, Wylie started talking.

"You know, I was... no, never mind." She didn't make him explain. She'd known him for over a year now and he was a very good friend. She knew him and his way of thinking. Every time she offered him a lift he knew it was a moment in which he could talk to her in private, and talking he did.

"I was gonna propose to her, you know? Next weekend, we were supposed to go to this stupid fancy Italian restaurant and I had a reservation and everything. And last night she told me she would rather break up than spend one more night with me and I have no idea what I did wrong."

He slammed one of his knees, then sighed and folded both of his hands in his lap.

"I'm so sorry, Jason."

He shrugged. "Don't give up on her, though. Unless she packed her things, there is no indication on her part that she actually wants to leave you. I mean, I know her, too. She can be dramatic. Give her some space but not too much because she might think you don't care anymore. Make it known to her that if she wants to talk, you're there."

They turned into his street. One quick look at his and Michelle's apartment told them that she was inside.

"Thank you, Teresa."

He opened the door and was about to exit, but stopped with one foot outside.

"How come you're still single while you have all this wisdom?"

"Go," she said, and he did. "Good luck."

She drove away just as a tsunami of Spanish and English stormed out of the apartment building.

* * *

 **A/N: There you go! This story will, btw, mainly be light but it wouldn't be a fic of me if it didn't have some hurt in there as well. So, be warned, but I will not overdo it! Please let me know what you thought in a REVIEW, thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much for your feedback on the last chapter! I'm glad at least some people are reading this!**

 **Also, I have a Little Mix concert the day after tomorrow and I'm really excited - I've been a fan since 2011 and this will be the first concert of them I'll ever attend. I can't wait!**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 3**_

"Good morning Cho," Lisbon greeted her fellow co worker as she met him in the parking lot. Cho and Lisbon, both equally stubborn when it came to their cars.

"You talk to the new guy yesterday?"

"No, but he talked to me."

"Nice?"

She glared at him. "Not quite my type, if that's what you're suggesting."

"I just asked if he was nice. I know he's not your type."

She sighed. "I don't know if he's nice. I don't have enough to judge him by."

"Fair enough."

They continued their way to the coffee machine in comfortable silence that only they could share, considering they had been practicing for almost ten years now. They met Wylie at the coffee machine and Lisbon could already tell it had not been a good night for him. She wanted to help him but she also knew he deserved his privacy so she let him be.

"Morning, Jason," she greeted him, and he responded with a small smile.

"G'morning." She couldn't help but put a hand on his arm as they sat down at their standard booth.

They drank their coffee in silence, Wylie busy with his phone while Cho was reading another one of his crime-solving books and Lisbon was looking around, checking to see if their coworkers were still alright.

She had to admit she didn't know everybody. Of some she didn't even know the name. She partly blamed herself but also them, considering the new wave of teachers had started working at the school without introducing themselves to anyone. Wylie had been the only exception which was probably the reason they instantly had a close connection. Of course there was an age difference of almost twenty years, more than most of the students had lived, but for them, it didn't matter. He taught her how to work her computer to its best ability and she taught him how to be an even better teacher than he already was.

She saw Mr. Jane move around the lounge with a teacup in his hands. She hadn't seen that cup and saucer before, from which she drew the conclusion that he had brought it with him. Another thing that caught her eye was that he was wearing the same kind of three-piece-suit as the day before. He must be one of these old school car lovers or something.

She thought he would walk towards their table but he just waved at her, indicating that he had seen her and sat down on the only couch in the lounge. Now that she thought about it, Mr. Jane had introduced himself to everybody, too.

She looked at Wylie and Cho who were still busy with their phone and book. Perhaps she should give Mr. Jane a chance after all.

She got up, walked towards him but hesitated before sitting down beside him.

"I think we started on a wrong note yesterday," she stated. He lowered his cup and looked at her. He didn't say a word.

"Teresa Lisbon. Not Mrs, just Ms."

He balanced his teacup in one hand, shaking hers with the other.

"Patrick Jane, Mr. But you may call me Patrick, if you want to."

"I will think about it."

He smiled and took another sip.

"Any rules I need to know about?"

"Well, no smoking on school grounds for both teachers and students. We just had-"

"No. I mean, rules concerning you."

"Oh." She frowned. What a peculiar man. "Well... no touching, no interrupting my classes..."

"So the usual for a teacher?"

"I guess."

Wylie came to stand right in front of them. "I will be going to prepare my classroom, see you later."

Lisbon nodded. "I'll be going too actually. I have a Jane Austen theme today."

"Exciting," Mr. Jane said with a smile. She got up and turned towards him.

"If you need any help, just let me know."

"I will, thank you, mysterious Mrs. Lisbon."

She merely smiled at him as she walked away. That son of a bitch.

~…~

"I thank thee for thine presence this weekly meeting," Director Dennis Abbott, 37, stated in all seriousness, yet the co workers couldn't help but giggle at his choice of words. "Today brought to you by yours sincerely, considering Lena has fallen ill and I had nothing to do anyway."

The door opened suddenly, revealing a flustered Wylie.

"Sorry, Director."

"Please, Jason, call me Dennis."

"Of course, Director."

Dennis shook his head and motioned for the young man to take a seat. "Anyway, where was I... ah, right. As you all might know, as of yesterday we have a new coworker, Mr. Patrick Jane. He will be replacing Rose Harding for the time being, but considering she jumped into the air when she left, I don't think she'll be coming back. But who am I to judge?"

He stood up and picked up a whiteboard marker from the table in front of him.

"I expect him to be accepted into our system by both our coworkers as well as the students, but so far I've heard nothing but praise in the hallways. Especially by the female students... and coworkers."

Lisbon looked at Mr. Jane, who merely shrugged at Dennis' comments. He was so smug about all of this that it almost seemed like he was used to this kind of? treatment. Worst thing was that exactly that was the case and she knew it.

"Theme week is coming up, too. To match Go Green, I think it might be a good idea to let the seniors and perhaps the juniors go out camping. It could be filled with your subject assignments that you can make your own, as long as it's useful, but I think that's self-explanatory. I would ask if there are any volunteers but I know there won't be, and I'm reminded of last year's event in this case, so I picked some colleagues myself. If you're totally not able to come, let me know, show some evidence, but I think that it would be a good team building exercise."

Several coworkers nodded their heads but Lisbon knew they hoped that Dennis hadn't chosen them. It wasn't the first time he did this, and he usually chose coworkers without families, spouses or any other responsibilities that might make it difficult for them to attend. Alas, it was usually her and Cho, among others.

He started writing on the board, and wrote in not so clear handwriting 'English dep.'.

"Teresa Lisbon, Peter van der Lee and Mark Roberts." The last one instantly started complaining and protesting.

"Dennis, I can't go."

"Why not?"

"I... I have nowhere to put my dog." Lisbon called his bullshit. He didn't have a dog and she knew Dennis knew too. Dennis sighed.

"Very well. Any volunteers from the English department?" Everybody looked around waiting for someone else to volunteer. It was like they were students themselves, Lisbon didn't like this attitude.

"I think it might be a good idea to bring Mr. Jane." She looked at the man in question, who was smiling at her.

"Why not? It should be fun."

Dennis nodded and added his name on the board. From the other side of the room, Wylie's hand rose.

"Director?"

"Yes, Jason?"

"May I come, too?" Dennis' eyebrows raised. Then, a smile appeared on his lips.

"A volunteer. I love it! Of course you may come. What about Michelle though?"

Wylie shook his head and retreated in his seat, crossing his arms against his chest.

Abbott needed a few moments to think about something to say, then simply shrugged. "Cho, may I ask for your presence?"

"Of course."

"Good." Abbott listed a few more people who he had planned should come, and none of them refused or protested. Perhaps they knew that it was just a week, paid and away from their partners, etc. Especially the 'paid' option should do the trick, Lisbon thought. In any case, she was glad that some of her coworkers were at least a bit more mature than Mark Roberts.

"During the next week I will ask other volunteers who have not showed up to this… _mandatory_ meeting. Moving on. As you all know, normally we would plan a giant bus operation to get the students from one point to the other, yet as we have recently completed our 'Go Green' assignments, I have decided that we will camp in Camola Park. Perhaps you have heard of it, it's basically next to Lake Travis. We will bike there, it will take roughly two hours. Should you want more information about the camp contact Lena about it once she returns. I want the people who are not joining to create groups to fill the cabins with a maximum of ten students per cabin, one teacher to monitor one cabin. When you're done I will call the park and make the arrangements. I hope I can count on your cooperation."

The teachers all nodded. Lisbon sighed. She didn't want to do this but she had found that ever since Dennis had introduced these trips she had gotten closer to friend and foe so perhaps something good would come out of it despite her initial reluctance.

As they exited the room, all caught up in conversation about the upcoming trip, she caught Mr. Jane's eyes looking at her intently.

On second thought, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea after all.

* * *

 **A/N: To anyone who got this far, thanks for sticking around!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the support! I have now decided that I'll upload every Tuesday, even though I have already been doing that from the beginning of the story. Before, it was just a coincidence but now, it's intentionally. Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

 **Also, over halfway through the 4th season of OITNB, can't believe how much I love that show.**

 **By the way, Little Mix's concert was AWESOME. I still have a headache but it was so worth it.**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 4**_

In the lunch break the following day, Mark Roberts showed up at their table with a bunch of papers in his hands, slamming them onto the table.

"I do _not_ like doing this."

"We probably don't like it either," Wylie commented, not taking his eyes off his phone, its screen oddly enough completely black.

"I have enough work as it is and then this idiot makes me do all this planning and I can't stand the sight of him."

Nobody at the table replied to his ranting. They knew Mark Roberts. They knew Dennis Abbott. The latter of which was almost always favored by everyone.

"Do you guys prefer to share a cabin with a certain person? If not, I will randomly decide and I will not care about complaints afterwards."

Again, no reply from the three seated at the table. It was not like Lisbon didn't care, she just… didn't really care. From previous experiences, she knew sharing a cabin with a fellow coworker was actually no big deal, and what with all the hyperactive teens they have to supervise, she was usually out like a light in the evenings. And anyway, she was usually teamed up with Cho.

So all in all, she didn't really care what the outcome would be of this.

"Very well. I will take your silence as consent to randomly pick names. Two people per cabin." He sat down in a nonchalant way and started writing down names. "Jason Wylie and Kimball Cho."

Both men looked at each other and nodded, then continued with what they were doing before.

"Yaqoob Beaumont and Peter van der Lee. Jessica Long and Stacey Hooper. Cameron Snyder and Denver Bell. And… Teresa Lisbon and Patrick Jane."

Lisbon almost choked on her coffee, managing in a split second to not let it all fly towards poor Wylie's head who was seated in front of her. She was wheezing for air a few seconds later and someone patted her on her back, which she frantically pushed away. When she had recovered only slightly she looked at Mark.

"You're kidding, right?" Her voice was still shaking.

"Na-ah, Ms. Lisbon, I said I would not accept any complaints. It is decided, and so it shall happen this way." He closed his notebook and gathered his belongings. "Enjoy your day, Ms. Lisbon."

Lisbon, Wylie and Cho were watching as the man walked away, especially Lisbon forcing herself to not throw a chair into his general direction. She had known her coworkers could be arrogant pricks, but she did not think it would go this far. Man, she knew they were in a high school but right now she was not sure whether Mark Roberts was a teacher or a student.

"What an asshole," Wylie whispered, surprised at his own use of words. Neither of them knew exactly _why_ the man was acting like an asshole, but the smug smile on his face as he had stated her and Mr. Jane's names just showed them that there were definitely ulterior motives in play. Why would he place the two of them together and then be so smug about it? And since when was Lisbon so picky about whom she shared a cabin with?

Yet she knew. Even though she had given Mr. Jane a second chance at behaving appropriately around her she did not know what he was actually like. She did not know him, at least not well enough to be sharing a room with him. She was a fairly introverted person and she knew Mark Roberts knew.

"You wanna change cabins?" Cho asked her, sensing her discomfort. She thought about it for a few seconds, before shaking her head and straightening her back.

"No, you know what? Screw Mark Roberts. I will have a great time despite sharing the room with Captain Jerk of the Privacy Invasion Ship. Because I'm not a child, unlike Mark Roberts." Even though her new nickname for Mr. Jane suggested otherwise. "I will behave like an adult and give a good example to the kids."

Wylie nodded, impressed by her mature answer and Cho just went back to reading his book. "Good luck."

They all resorted to their previous occupations which they had pursued until Mark Roberts had so rudely interrupted. Mr. Jane passed their table with a small saluting motion of his hand. He was about to go to his standard couch when Lisbon motioned he come over to their table. He smiled, sat down at the other side of the table and put his cup and saucer down.

"Thanks for the invitation, mysterious Mrs. Lisbon."

"You're very welcome." She took another sip of her coffee, her throat still slightly sore. "Mr. Jane, we will be sharing a cabin on the seniors' trip to Lake Travis."

His eyebrows raised and she could quickly make out a small smile behind his cup which he had most likely strategically raised.

"And whom should I thank for this amazing opportunity to spend more time with the mysterious Mrs. Lisbon?"

"Mark Roberts."

"I will make sure he will be thanked."

She rolled her eyes, focusing on the rest of the break room instead.

He did not say another word after that, perhaps having sensed her slight annoyance and reluctance to actually talk to him. She only hoped she would be able to put her childish thoughts aside and just be a reasonable adult when the themed week would actually arrive.

"Teresa?" Wylie asked suddenly, his voice small. Instantly worried, she looked over at him only to find him showing her his phone, now worryingly unlocked. She quickly read the text shown to her.

' _I want you to pack your stuff and never come back. M'_

Her eyes went up to his and she could tell he was on the edge of breaking down. She nodded, hoping that would suffice for now. She would tell him he could stay at her place later that day.

~…~

She drove to the apartment with Wylie, waiting outside awkwardly while she could hear the couple fighting inside.

This was another reason she didn't mind being single. She didn't even know what had happened between the two, but it was obvious that Michelle just could not let it go. Lisbon knew that nobody would be worth it enough to ruin her day.

Wylie stormed outside, for the first time since she had learned about the fight seemingly pissed. He angrily stuffed his bags inside the trunk of her car. When he was about to open the car door to the passenger seat, their eyes crossed.

God, she could easily see all of his heartache in his blue eyes and instantly wished she could wrap him up in her arms and make everything better for him. And God, she was turning into one of these corny old mother figures, wasn't she?

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Jason."

He didn't respond, simply stepped inside the car and didn't say anything for what felt like the longest time. She looked at him one final time before starting the car and driving away.

She had only thought for one single second that this was a little odd, they were coworkers and should remain at a professional distance, but he reminded her of her brothers too much. She had failed them, so she decided she would do this little thing to make up for it.

~…~

Right before recess the next day, Shelby Ford went up to Lisbon at the end of her class, sporting a worried look. As they so often did with these kids, her internal alarms went off in a rather noisy way, all her senses heightened.

"Ms. Lisbon?"

"Yes, Shelby?"

"May I talk with you for a second?"

Lisbon instantly put down the papers and books she was holding and motioned for the girl to take a seat, which she did.

It took a while for the girl to find the courage to continue what she had so bravely started. She was looking at her lap the entire time, her hands nervously fumbling with the hem of her dress. Her dark hair framed her entire face, making it impossible for Lisbon to see her face and therefore read her facial expression. She had patience, especially with this girl, because she knew that Shelby knew she was completely safe in her classroom.

"Ms. Lisbon… can you promise me something?"

Lisbon nodded, her concern for the girl growing.

"Please don't tell anybody about this. I don't want it to come out… at all…"

"Shelby, you know you are safe with me. You can tell me anything, it will stay between these walls. I promise."

Shelby nodded. Then, finding the last bit of courage within herself, she looked up at Lisbon.

"I think that… my mother… she's abusing my dad."

She did not add more, simply left it at that. As though by stating that, everything would be clear to Lisbon and she would be able to help the girl through this. Lisbon took a while to register what the girl had said. She had heard countless of stories from other students over the years with similar experiences, but none as drastic as what Shelby was implying. And while she had complete trust in the young girl she was also aware of the fact that sometimes certain signals were read wrong and it turned out to be just a 'normal' fight in the end.

"Thank you for telling me, Shelby," she told the girl, who now looked up at her teacher. Lisbon could see there were tears pooling in the girl's eyes, and wished she could wrap the girl up in her arms and comfort her the way she deserved it. But she respected the students' privacy and instead put a mere hand on Shelby's arm, hoping it showed the same kind of meaning. "Will you tell me what you saw?"

Shelby nodded, Lisbon's hand apparently enough encouragement to keep talking. And she explained everything, how she heard her parents fight and it ended abruptly, only to find her father clearly upset in the bathroom minutes later with her mother nowhere to be found. Naturally, parents screaming at each other already has a big impact on children and teenagers, as Lisbon could unfortunately personally understand, but in the way Shelby was explaining right now, it would surely traumatize her for life.

"I'm sorry that this is happening to you and your parents, Shelby." The girl returned to looking down at her lap, her shoulders now softly rocking with what could only be called sobs. Lisbon's heart broke.

"I have a difficult question to ask you, Shelby," Lisbon said softly, and the girl nodded without looking up to her. "Is your mother abusing you, too?"

Her body tensed up but she only looked slightly angry when she looked up.

"I have to ask unfortunately, because if that is the case I will have to notify child services."

"No, my mother is not abusing me."

Lisbon held her sigh of relief at the last moment.

"Okay. That's a good thing, at least."

They remained like that for a few more moments, when Lisbon's gaze landed on the clock hung above the doorway. Only a couple of minutes left before the break was over.

"Shelby, what do you want me to do with this situation?"

The girl just shrugged helplessly, tears escaping her eyes hitting the floor and her lap.

"I will try my best to help you, okay, Shelby?"

She nodded, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry I cried like that, Ms. Lisbon."

"It's not a problem, Shelby. Thank you for telling me. I really appreciate that you have been so honest with me."

Shelby stood up and straightened her clothing, quickly grabbing a pocket mirror from her bag to check her make-up. Deciding it was alright, she showed a faint smile at her teacher and thanked her once again.

"I hope you will still enjoy our trip to Lake Travis next month."

The girl flashed her familiar smile, nodding. It even looked as though her dark skin started glowing from the inside out, reassuring Lisbon this young woman would be alright, no matter what would happen to her in the future.

"I get to share the cabin with Taylah, and Alice and Kate and Elyza- It'll be so much fun! It's weird but I've never actually been to Lake Travis. Like, I'm born and raised Austenite but I've never been to Lake Travis!? I mean, I guess I haven't, I wouldn't really remember."

"Go enjoy the rest of your break now, Shelby."

The girl blushed as she noticed she had been rambling and nodded. While leaving the room she quietly closed the door behind her.

Lisbon fell back in her chair, covering her face with both her hands.

Sometimes she wished that she wouldn't take the sorrow of the world so personally, and wouldn't pull all of it towards herself, but she couldn't help the fact that she was a compassionate person. She cared about the people around her and liked to believe that people returned that favor. She had just hoped her students would be mostly spared from the cruelty of modern days.

A knock on the door made her jump up, fixing herself up quickly by straightening her clothes much like Shelby had done it earlier, and gave the person an indication that they could come inside.

She was not very surprised to see Mr. Jane standing there, an almost peaceful smile on his lips.

"Hello mysterious Mrs. Lisbon."

She didn't grace him with even as much as a look, and that seemingly caught his attention. He stepped inside the classroom, and from the corner of her eyes, she could see that he was worried.

"Everything okay?"

She swallowed, yet nodded.

"Just some… never mind." She looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking up on the mysterious Mrs. Lisbon, making sure she has a great day."

She got up, gathering her items and casting a quick look around the room to see if she or the students hadn't forgotten anything, before approaching Mr. Jane and the doorway.

"I would appreciate it if you quit calling me 'mysterious Mrs. Lisbon'."

He stepped out of the room with her, and watched as she locked the door.

"Or else?"

"Or else, what?"

"What would you do if I kept calling you that?"

Good lord. He made her blood boil so badly, and not because of any positive word in her vocabulary.

"I guess you will just have to find out, then." Covering up the fact that she didn't really know what she _would_ do in the worst case scenario. Perhaps rip his head off.

"Alright. I will not risk it."

"Good."

He held the door for her as they reached the teacher's lounge, then stayed awfully close until they reached her standard table. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You may sit with us."

"Thank you."

Lisbon knew that one day, she might actually kill him. With his stupid saccharine schtick, parading around the school as though he had never done anything else. She wished she could personally fire him.

"Where have you been, by the way?" Wylie asked, and she knew it was merely out of curiosity. Although, now that she looked at him, she saw a hint of confusion on his face as he looked from Mr. Jane to her and back to Mr. Jane. Oh no.

"I was giving Shelby Ford extra information about the curriculum."

Nobody questioned her further. Except for Mr. Jane who now, instead of Wylie, was looking at her with a confused expression. She prevented him from saying anything with a barely discernable 'no' movement of her head.

Nobody dared to say anything else.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, alright! More drama to add to the story! Thanks for getting this far!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am publishing this from my phone which takes a lot longer, but seeing as I will not have time to do this once I'm home I decided to do this in the train on my way home. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 ** _'Dismissed'_**

 ** _Chapter 5_**

She thought about pretending she hadn't seen him, but as she had grown to know him over the past few weeks, she knew nothing went unnoticed to him.

She sat down beside him, looking at the few students who were still on the school grounds trying to make their way to the last remaining busses back home.

"I will not notify Abbott about Shelby."

She saw him nodding from the corner of her eyes.

"Not yet, anyway."

He turned his upper body to put his arm over the backrest, turning slightly towards her. Now she looked at him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I know we're supposed to say something."

He didn't say anything, just resumed looking at her. God dammit, you jerk. Say something.

She wondered how he had found out what was bothering Shelby. Perhaps he had eavesdropped on their entire conversation and wanted to use his knowledge as leverage? But then again, she wasn't even entirely sure whether he actually knew what was going on, and might just be tricking her into talking about it.

She sighed.

"Alright. Fine. What do you suggest we do?"

He moved closer towards her, his elbows leaning on his knees.

"We should tell Abbott."

"He will want to talk to the parents."

"And ultimately they might hurt her in the process."

She nodded. She crossed her legs, her hands folded in her lap.

"I see the flaw in that plan now," he admitted. He remained quiet for a while, and she studied his face, seeing gears turning trying to come up with the next step. "Still, we should tell Abbott. To prevent things from escalating."

She sighed and leaned back, her arms now crossed, too.

"You care about her," Mr. Jane stated, seemingly out of nowhere. She looked at him.

"Of course I do, Mr. Jane, she's one of my students." _They're like my children_ , she added in her head. And she knew it was true – these kids will be closest she'll ever get at having kids. Truth be told, she was okay with this turn of events.

He nodded, returning to his deep thinking like before, this time his finger lightly touching his upper lip. For some reason, she didn't believe this act he was putting up, pretending to be thinking. Oh well, it was not like she had anything else to do anyway.

She got tired of waiting for him to continue his train of thoughts and sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell Abbott."

He smiled at her. She realized that that was exactly what he had wanted her to say from the moment she had sat down.

"Good."

She glared at him, wishing she carried a gun with her to rid him of that god damn smug smile. She barely managed to suppress a groan, instead it sounded low in her throat. He would be able to pick up on it anyway, she knew.

"Ms. Lisbon?"

She startled and looked to the side. Rory Boehme, freshman, was standing in front of them, hands in his pocket and his head aimed at the ground. She wished she could get him out of his shell somehow, but she had no idea how.

"Yes, Rory?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, I just wanted to confirm our homework for tomorrow."

She looked over at Mr. Jane, who was merely looking at her, waiting for her response.

"What about it, Rory?"

He fumbled with his backpack, trying to get out his planner, no doubt. He was so busy trying to find it that he was slowly tilting to the side, until he visibly lost his footing. At the last moment, Mr. Jane jumped up and prevented the boy from hitting the ground. Lisbon had perked up at the situation, too.

She approached him.

"You know what, Rory," she said, straightening his coat. "Why don't you just enjoy your afternoon today? We will work on the homework tomorrow together, alright?"

The boy was confused but when her words registered, a smile appeared on his lips and he nodded.

"Okay! Thank you, Ms. Lisbon!"

Jane handed the boy his bag which he had consequently dropped and gave him a smile, too.

"Enjoy," Mr. Jane added as the boy ran to try and catch his bus.

Mr. Jane turned towards her, still smiling.

"You're a good teacher."

"I try."

"A good woman, too."

She raised an eyebrow. What was he playing at? And worst of all, why didn't it feel weird to hear him say these words?

He took in a deep breath, looking at his feet for a brief moment before looking back at her.

"I assume we will discuss the matter of Ms. Ford tomorrow?"

She stared at him, still thrown off guard by his previous words, but she accepted the change of conversation. She brushed her hair out of her face.

"Of course. See you later, Mr. Jane."

He nodded, giving her a small smile.

"Enjoy your afternoon, Ms. Lisbon."

She once again eyed him suspiciously as he walked away from her. It was the first time he actually called her something reasonable, instead of his standard 'mysterious Mrs. Lisbon', and it didn't go unnoticed to her. What was he up to? She wished she could read his mind, it seemed like there was more to him and his intentions than he let on. To be honest, just now, he wasn't being very subtle with it.

"Mr. Jane?" she said softly, causing him to turn around and look at her, curious what she was going to say. "It's just Lisbon."

He nodded. "Alright. Enjoy your afternoon, _just Lisbon_."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the smile off her features. She fell right into that trap, even if it was the oldest one in the book. His smug smile as he turned around showed her just how much he enjoyed this victory.

"And you may call me Patrick, just Lisbon."

 _Well, goodnight to you, too, Mr. Jane. I will probably never figure out how you work._

~…~

"Hey," Wylie absentmindedly uttered as she opened the front door and stepped inside her apartment. She threw her coat over the nearest horizontal surface, not really caring about storing it away properly and made her way over to the living area. Wylie was watching TV, one of those generic crime shows that she secretly loves watching, too.

She sat down beside him, putting her feet up on the low table. She let out a sigh, relieved to be off her feet.

"What took you so long, by the way?" he asked her, his eyes still fixed on the TV screen. She looked at him. She knew he meant well but she wasn't quite feeling like elaborating on that subject. Still, she did it anyhow.

"Just some trouble with a student. Nothing to worry about. I will get further into the matter tomorrow with Mr. Jane."

That seemed to get his attention. He tore his gaze away from the TV to look at her. She saw his eyebrows were raised.

"Mr. Jane?"

She nodded. She had a feeling what he was trying to insinuate and she did not like it.

"You know, one of our fellow coworkers whom we respect and treat professionally."

He nodded, quite frantically, but she could still see a smile on his lips anyway. What were the people around her thinking of nowadays?

"Right."

She rolled her eyes and focused on the TV again. She could tell that he returned to watching the TV as well, and they remained like that for quite some time, until the show was finished and the good guys had finally caught their perpetrator. Of course, not without the necessary drama she always saw in shows like these; agents almost or actually dying, secret love affairs, false accusations and arguments that turned heated. These days, most crime shows were more action-filled soap operas than anything else.

"A few weeks ago you wanted to cut his head off."

"I still do."

"And yet you work closely in something that isn't teaching related."

"It's about a student, so in a way it _is_ teaching related. What are you implying, Jason?"

He shook his head, shrugging as well in the process, making him look frustrated, even though she knew he wasn't really.

"I… Nothing." He sighed and looked at her sideways. "I just thought, maybe something… I guess… you deserve it, Teresa."

"Deserve what?"

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Love."

She huffed, managing at the last moment to keep her sudden burst of laughing to herself. She stared at him, though, when she found he was serious.

"Jason… I know you're an adult, too, but right now, you sound more like a hopeless romantic teen. Not every contact between a man and a woman is a sign of romantic interest. I mean, look at us. You and me. You're staying at my place, and all that we have going on between us is a friendship."

As she took more time to get her thoughts straight, he interrupted her train of thoughts.

"I can see the way you look at him, though. I may be childish and immature at times, and there might not be love in your eyes… _yet_ , question mark? But you are interested in him, in one way or another you are. I don't know how and why, but I can tell that even though you make a big point out of hating his guts and threatening to kill him, you like the mystery that surrounds him and you enjoy his company. Even for a little bit, even if he annoys you with questionably appropriate comments and nicknames. He peeks your interest like nobody has since I've met you. I'm not saying that you _should_ carry this out, or that you _should_ hook up with him. I was just insinuating that, should this actually be true, and he feels the same way, I'm happy for you. After all that you've done for everybody around you, you deserve it."

She looked at him, seeing that he was absolutely honest with her in that moment. Not that he was never honest with her, he usually was.

"Jason... thank you. But… I don't like him. Not like that. I have to admit; I have grown to respect him more. I can see he's a good teacher, even though his ways are dubious sometimes. But that's all there is. I promise."

"Alright. Fair enough."

He got up, handing her the TV remote.

"Can I pour you something to drink?"

She shook her head. He was, despite having launched all of this information at her that was obviously not true, a sweet kid. His heart was in the right place.

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

He nodded. "Good night, Teresa."

"You too, Jason."

With that, he left the living room.

~…~

She arrived a little late for her standards, which of course was still early. It didn't surprise her that Mr. Jane met her almost instantly when she had stepped onto school grounds, as though he had been waiting for her all morning.

"Good morning, just Lisbon."

God. She had no idea how Wylie thought that she had a thing for this stubborn man. She wanted to bash his head in just as badly now as she had weeks earlier.

"I changed my mind," she said, continuing walking to the school's entrance.

"About what?"

"About Abbott. I want to tell him."

He smiled at her, radiating a form of pride, she supposed.

"Good. Good. During break time?"

She nodded. They stood in front of the school's doors now, and he opened them for her, letting her enter first. Fine, so he was a gentleman, and he had at least some level of manners, but she swore to herself that anything beyond respect was non-existent. It just couldn't be.

"See you then." He nodded to her, but before he turned around to do whatever he was planning on doing, he added one last thing. "Incidentally, you look particularly nice today, just Lisbon."

Alright then. She was just going to disregard that comment completely.

~…~

"Please, take a seat," Abbott instructed as the three of them entered his office. Like before, Mr. Jane granted her the opportunity to sit down first.

"Alright. What matter is so pressing that you would feel the need to refuse me my bacon-egg sandwich that I so carefully constructed this morning."

"Sir, I… we," Lisbon started as she looked over at Mr. Jane, who was almost casually sitting in the seat, his legs crossed and hands draped over them, "have reason to believe that Ms. Shelby Ford of grade 11, might be a witness to parental abuse between her, well, her parents."

They then fell into a long silence, with Abbott's face not showing a single emotion. Lisbon looked at Mr. Jane again, but he did not respond to her movement.

She was not regretting telling Abbott. She knew that Shelby did not want her to tell anybody about this, but Lisbon had also told her that she would do anything within her might to help this troubled young woman. To her, this was the best way at this point and place, seeing as Abbott had resources and a lot more power to get things done.

When Abbott finally made a sound akin to sighing, she looked back at him.

"Well. That sure is something."

She nodded, and so did Mr. Jane, she noticed from the corner of her eyes.

"And how do you know all of this, Teresa?"

"She told me this. I want to clarify that she only has suspicions as well at this point, yet as you might understand, I will take this suspicion very seriously."

"As you should. I will, too." He moved forward, his elbows on his desk. "Let's keep this low for the time being. Nobody needs to know about any of this. In the meantime, I will try and find a way of going about this."

He stood up, causing her and Mr. Jane to jump up, too.

"I am expecting full cooperation on your sides, but I don't doubt you."

"Of course."

"Do you expect to need any changes to the, uh," checking his agenda to see what exactly it was they would be doing in a few weeks, "Lake Travis trip for Ms. Ford?"

"No sir."

"Very good." He nodded, motioning to the door when he apparently remembered something else. "Oh, now that I have you here, will you two sharing a cabin be a problem?"

"No sir," she replied instantly, looking at Mr. Jane for his agreement. He nodded in response, confirming it won't be a problem. She wondered why people would assume that it would be in the first place.

"Alright. I will get back to you soon."

* * *

 **A/N: Next up, the actual trip! I know that this story is getting gradually worse but that's alright, I guess. I should just be happy with what I've got so far! Thanks for reading, see you next week!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know it can be a pain to read this story since it's such a stretch sometimes, so everybody who is still reading this: thank you so much!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 6**_

 _Three weeks later_

"Everyone's here," Abbott stated, looking at the clipboard he was holding, striping off the last name when his eyes fell on the only name still to be crossed out, "except for Mr. Jane. Of course."

Abbott was getting visibly annoyed. He had specifically told all of them to be there in time, at 8 am on Monday morning, but it hadn't surprised him one bit that said man was late. Although, maybe it did a little - Mr. Jane was always punctual, down to the second. If he was retreating now, he would have a big problem, and Mr. Jane too.

"Wait," Lisbon said, pointing to a faraway street corner, and sure enough, Mr. Jane slowly cycled his way to the school, his smug smile on his lips, although Lisbon could tell there was a little bit of guilt in there too.

"Dennis, my sincerest apologies, truly." He got off the bike, which looked brand new, and expertly parked it, his smile never faltering. "I had an errand to run, but I am here now."

Annoyed was not the right word to describe how Abbott was looking at the moment, but he took in a deep breath and released it, fixing his self-control.

"Alright. Thanks for coming."

Abbott coughed, loudly, catching everybody's attention. A couple dozen heads turned his way, and he nodded.

"Good. I thank you all for coming on this beautiful Monday morning. I know it's early, but we will make the best out of it. All of your groups were assigned a teacher who will watch over you, that was announced last week. Now if you have any questions, please turn to your teacher immediately. We will drive to Lake Travis which will take about two hours. After an hour, we'll take a short break to do all those things you teens need to do apparently. I hope you will all enjoy these few days and that you might behave like angels, but I know you won't." Most of them laughed, but everybody knew that they would never be able to behave properly, them being teens and all. Fun for them, not so fun for all the adults trying to control them.

"Let's go."

The entire group burst out into excited conversation, sometimes one of them screaming out their joy.

Mr. Jane turned towards Lisbon. He pointed at her, that familiar smug smile on his features.

"I have a surprise for you later, just Lisbon."

She simply raised an eyebrow at his statement, questioning his words.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, just Lisbon." He smiled, almost sheepishly. "I would not want to seduce you over gifts. That would be very sophomoric."

"I didn't think you were trying to seduce me."

"Come on. How could that thought not have entered your head?"

She just looked at him for a few seconds, then inaudibly sighed and turned around. She went looking for her assigned group, and found them standing together, chatting away without a single break to take in some air. Still, Lisbon couldn't help but smile at the girls' enthusiasm, knowing she had once been like them too.

Alright: Taylah, Alice, Shelby, Kate, Elyza, Tara, Peyton and Ashley. All eight of her girls were present, so it was time for them to get moving. She joined them, calling their attention.

"Ms. Lisbon, I'm, like, so happy that you are in our group."

"Katie, she's not _in_ our group. She _leads_ our group." Katie turned around to look at Elyza who had uttered those words. Before anything got nasty, Lisbon interrupted.

"I'm not leading, just making sure your curling iron doesn't set the cabin on fire."

That elicited a couple of laughs from the girls.

"Well anyway, it could have been _way_ worse. We could have had, I dunno… what's his name? That new guy who looks surprisingly hot for someone who could be my dad?" Katie countered, using a copious amount of hand movements in a way to drive her opinion home.

"Oh, you mean that Mr. James guy?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"He's married though, Katie, so keep your panties on."

Katie's jaw dropped and so did some other jaws in the group. Lisbon immediately stepped in between the two. "Alright, let's go, shall we?"

Yet the girls' comments made her realize that in the few weeks that she had known Mr. Jane, she'd never looked at his hands to check for a wedding ring. Why hadn't she? And if he was married, why would he compliment her like he did?

~...~

After driving for about an hour she noticed Abbott waving at her almost frantically, getting not only her but the girls' attention, too. They interrupted their never-ending chatter to greet the direction. She still found it strange that he joined them on outings like these, but at the same time it didn't. He liked to stay informed of how his people and students were doing and thinking, and to be honest, he had a serious case of FOMO. A term she had learned from her students but only had known the definition of after she had looked it up on the internet.

Abbott instructed them on where to put their bikes for the moment, and the girls followed swiftly. When they joined their classmates who were already sitting on the grass, Lisbon turned to Abbott.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Me, too." She looked around, searching for some of her coworkers, and saw most of them were already here. She realized that her group was probably one of the slowest, which wasn't a surprise since they didn't stop talking for one second.

"Yeah, Jane's over there." He suddenly remembered something, as he raised a finger at her to keep her attention. "Say, Teresa, I've been contacting Child Services about Shelby Ford, and I was wondering-"

"With all due respect, Sir, I don't think this is the right moment."  
He froze, but then merely smiled and nodded. "You're right. My apologies." His gaze went over the groups, most likely counting them in his head, then nodded again.

"Everyone's here. You coming?"

She did, seeing Mr. Jane waving to them enthusiastically. When she did not return his greeting, his smile dropped but he went back to minding his own business.

She sat down next to Wylie and Cho, who were in a heated discussion about whatever they were talking about. Of course, in true Kimball Cho fashion, he didn't look even closely frustrated, but the fact that his conversational partner was made it clear to her that they were both most likely very much invested into this argument. She looked at them bringing forth pieces of evidence to support their claim, and she quickly realized they were arguing which movie was the best one ever. From what she was getting, Cho thought The Good, The Bad and the Ugly was the best - Wylie stood ground on his opinion of Inception.

"Good to see you, too," she interrupted their argument before it got too vocal, as she had noticed some of the students were catching on to it as well. She knew that these two did not mean harm with their bantering, but the students couldn't be entirely sure on that.

"Oh, hi Teresa," Wylie said as he turned his head towards her. His cheeks were almost red with his need to convince Cho of his point. However, Lisbon knew that Cho was smart but stubborn, so there was no way the younger guy would drive his point home.

"To be fair," she started, looking around at the scenery, "a taste of anything is completely personal, so something I might like, you might hate. Also, there's an age difference of about two decades between you two, so there's the generation gap you have to take into consideration, too." She focused on both of the men. "Though, really, you might just cut it out here before your bantering might cause our students to start misbehaving, too."

Wylie sheepishly looked down at the patch of grass he was sitting on, starting to pull on it to keep himself distracted. Cho straightened his back and his shirt.

All of them had donned casual clothing for the occasion, and it felt weird to say the least. It was not like she had never seen Kimball Cho in a simple T-shirt and jeans, it was just that she had seen him more often in his immaculate black suits than any casual attire.

She knew that to every rule, there was an exception, and in this case Mr. Jane was it. Where everybody was dressed comfortably, he remained ever so stylish in his standard three-piece-suit. She wondered if he even owned anything else.

Now that she took in a quick look of him, with the girls' earlier conversation in mind, she almost instantly noticed the golden wedding band on his left hand. Of course. Oh well, this just gave her more reason to not accept his often inappropriate behavior around her.

"It's been a while since I last biked anywhere," Lisbon commented, getting a few agreeing nods. "I should have done this sooner."

"Tell me about it," Wylie agreed. He rubbed his hands against each other to rid them of some of the dirt on them. He raised his head and looked around, too. "I might just buy a bike instead of taking the bus every time."

She looked at him and nodded. He should, really. She knew that the exercise would do him well, physically and mentally. He might just get his head cleared before he stepped into his workplace, instead of always taking his personal problems so obviously with him.

Behind Wylie, she saw her group and a few other students were in a heated discussion too, and she was about to walk over to them and nip it in the bud when she noticed a few of them already moved over to her.

"Ms. Lisbon! Ms. Lisbon! How does Pride and Prejudice start again? 'Cause Holly says she knows but we all think that she's way wrong."

Lisbon smiled, wondering why in the hell these girls were talking about school assignments when they could be discussing literally anything else. " _It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife._ "

"See! I told you so!" One of the girls turned to the others and started yelling. "Ha! Holly, you were wrong!"

They returned happily running, knowing they had claimed another victory, and Lisbon couldn't help but smile. Sure, she thought it strange that they seemingly didn't talk about teenage-girly-stuff, but she was flattered anyway that they deemed her classes interesting enough to be discussed outside of school hours. Although technically, these were still school hours and the teachers were still being paid.

"How do you know all of this?" Wylie asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I studied English literature, Jason. I was practically forced to know these things."

"Right."

They were quiet for a while, looking around and taking in the scenery. She was right, however, she should have done this more often. She hadn't been in this part of the state much, the last time had to be about fifteen years ago, when she had just moved here.

"Jane's looking at you," Cho remarked without showing anything on his face, without even giving the slightest hint of having looked at his general direction in the first place.

She didn't look at Mr. Jane to prevent him turning suspicious, but she knew she didn't have to since she had already felt his eyes burning on her back.

"Anything going on?" He asked her, lowering his voice politely, knowing she would kill him even more if he talked any louder. Not that she wouldn't kill him now after having asked that question.

"I'm not even going to answer that." Stupid answer, she knew, but she was getting fed up with people assuming things. Honestly, they knew she was happy being a single, and that Mr. Jane was not her type, and really why was she getting so angry about this? Good grief.

Nobody asked her anything else, and they kept a comfortable small talk going until Abbott gathered up the troops once again, and they returned to their bikes. Lisbon noticed some of her girls were gathered with some boys, which in itself wasn't such a big problem, considering they were all teens and this just part of what they were supposed to do. Yet they weren't really responding to her calls to try and get their attention. That in itself was a problem, and she made her way over to them.

"Why don't you just drive with us? It would be way funner with you guys."

"Yeah, sure, it'll be fun! Just have to ask our lame teacher, I hope he'll say yes."

"Your lame teacher will say yes," Lisbon heard Mr. Jane say behind her, and passed her on his way to the group, "on one condition."

Dwayne Wilson, quarterback and probably the most mature of all the students joining them this week, took the lead and nodded. "Sure, man."

Mr. Jane smiled and pointed at the boy. "Each one of you will do a favor for these ladies you so desperately want to spend time with. A lady of my choosing, of course."

Most of the boys instantly exclaimed their refusal, the girls however started giggling in unison and looking at Lisbon to see what her reaction was. Of course, she couldn't deny that this was somewhat funny.

Yet Dwayne had something completely different on his mind, and as Lisbon looked at Mr. Jane, she noticed that he knew. "Deal."

With their quarterback's approval, the boys knew that they had no choice but to give in. This caused the girls to chuckle even louder and some even high-fived each other.

Mr. Jane put a finger against his lips, thinking about good combinations, then smiled again.

"Shawn, Alice. James and Elyza. Benjamin and Peyton. Jason, Ashley. Stephen, Tara." By this time, most of them had started laughing, the humor of the situation not lost on them. "David, Kate. Scott and Taylah, and of course Dwayne with our lovely Shelby Ford."

The group of teens started clapping and laughing, and Lisbon realized that this year of Seniors' camp might just turn out to be the best so far.

* * *

 **A/N: I tried my best to get these kids as much realistic as possible, but it's up to you to decide if I succeeded so far. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm so sorry for missing the upload day yesterday! I'm currently working a series of night shifts so all I'm doing is sleeping. It's not an excuse of course, but it's the truth. Here's the new chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 7**_

Mr. Jane joined her as their groups moved ahead of them. He merely smiled at her, not even really focusing on the road.

"You knew that Dwayne has a crush on Shelby."

He nodded.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I could see it in his eyes. Beside that, he would look in her direction only to then look away when she turned to him. It was quite obvious."

Lisbon eyed him suspiciously, keeping her eyes on the road just enough.

"He told you, didn't he?"

"Yep."

She couldn't help but smile, which of course elicited a smile from him as well.

"Though in my defense, it was quite obvious."

"Do you dislike being proven wrong, Mr. Jane?"

"I'm hardly wrong, just Lisbon, so I am not used to this feeling."

She huffed and rolled her eyes, but she wasn't surprised that he thought this way. Judging by the way his mind had worked during the few weeks they had known each other now, he was undoubtedly always the smartest person in the room. 'Smart', however, did not usually equal 'nice', and she had to let him know somehow.

She looked sideways at him, noticing he was trying to get her attention back.

"Just Lisbon, I would like to apologize for not always minding my own business."

She swallowed her previous opinion. Perhaps another time.

"I don't think this is the right moment for this."

"No, you're right. I do want to get back on this topic later, however. I am aware I behave like an ass sometimes and I would not want you to be mad at me."

"And why is that, exactly?"

He didn't get to answer her question, as they heard a loud crash followed by some screams and gasps. Lisbon's head shot right to the source of the sounds, and found a couple of the students on the ground, their bikes and limbs tangled up.

"Oh no," she breathed, then got off her bike, rushing toward them. "Are you alright?"

The fallen students looked around at each other, not necessarily showing any signs that they were in pain, then all just lowered themselves to the ground and started laughing at the top of their lungs. Well, all except Alice, who was clutching her wrist, simply staring at it.

Lisbon crouched down beside the girl and took her arm in her hands, closely observing. Mr. Jane soon joined. As soon as Lisbon touched her, tears formed on her cheeks, first just a couple, then an amount more or less resembling a waterfall, accompanied by loud sobs.

Lisbon studied the wrist, not seeing an obvious deformity, but she did see that the area was starting to swell.

Mr. Jane was both rubbing soothing circles on the girl's back and making sure the others didn't do anything they would regret later.

"Can you move your wrist for me carefully, Alice?"

She saw the girl tried, but in the end she visibly refused to cause herself more pain. Lisbon knew a lot of the pain might also be brought on by shock, but considering the swelling she didn't want to take any risks.

"I'm gonna call Abbott," she told Mr. Jane, who nodded. He told the other students some other things as he sat down next to Alice with his legs crossed.

She explained the situation, and she heard him groan on the other side.

"Why can these things never go well?"

"Will you join her or do you want me to go?" This situation was not entirely Alice's fault, even though she knew that Abbott would want to blame someone and experience told them it was usually the students. If Lisbon hadn't been so caught up in the conversation with Mr. Jane, she would have been able to prevent it from happening.

"Can you go, Teresa? The nearest First Aid Office is close to the lake, so it might be best to continue and then go further from there."

"Is it possible to pick her up in a car?"

"You're with Mr. Jane, right? I can't allow one teacher to monitor, what, sixteen students? No, I'm sorry, Teresa, but you'll have to continue. We'll pick up her bike later."

"Alright, see you later, then."

She returned to the group, noticing that Alice's tears had disappeared but the pain remained. Not only was Mr. Jane trying to cheer her up, the other students had joined too, keeping her distracted from her injury.

"We need to continue," Lisbon said, drawing all the attention to her. She knew they would protest, she had too, but unfortunately this was all they could do at the moment. "So I suggest Alice to sit on the back while someone drives, does anybody volunteer?"

Several hands were raised, and Lisbon pointed at the first student she saw, which turned out to be Taylah. Said girl, together with Mr. Jane, got Alice back on her feet and they tried to figure out the best way for her to sit. Lisbon instructed Shelby to drive beside Taylah and help Alice should they fall again. With everyone instructed and slightly calmed down, they continued their way to the lake.

This time, all Lisbon did was pay attention to her students.

~...~

Lisbon knew she spoke on behalf of all of them that she was glad to be at the camp. Abbott was awaiting them once again, taking care of Alice while they put away their bikes.

"I'll take her," Lisbon started as she joined them. Abbott nodded. He reached into his pockets and got out car keys.

"Take my car. And some other students too."

"Will do. I'll keep you updated."

She guided Alice to the car and Taylah and Shelby joined, both girls putting a hand on her shoulder. They set off quickly, also wanting to get this over with.

"Ms. Lisbon, does this happen often?"

"What does, Taylah?"

"Well, us messing up and everything."

Lisbon smiled faintly and looked in the rearview mirror, observing how Alice had carefully put her wrist on her leg, trying to dampen the movements of the car as much as possible.

"To be honest, yes. Although we haven't had a lot of broken bones so far."

A smile appeared on Alice's lips. "I'm so honored to be special."

All of them giggled at her comment.

The ride turned out to be relatively short, them arriving within fifteen minutes or so. The girls helped out Alice while Lisbon gathered most of their personal belongings. She signed them in at the desk and joined the girls, sitting down in a corner in the waiting room. Lisbon noticed the girls were whispering but they stopped when she sat down.

"Please, feel free to continue your small talk, ladies."

They giggled. "It's sort of personal, Ms. Lisbon."

She nodded. "Fair enough."

The girls looked at each other, silently discussing their options, then nodded as well.

"Alright. We were just talking about how Dwayne has a crush on Shelby."

Shelby hit Taylah's arm.  
"T! He does _not_ have a crush on me!"

"He so does, Shelby. Whatever, if you don't want to see that, idec."

"Whatevs."

Shelby and Taylah both rolled their eyes, but Lisbon could tell that they were not fighting. After all, they had been very good friends since their freshman year and they wouldn't let such a useless argument spoil that.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Ms. Lisbon?" Alice seemingly blurted out. All heads turned her way, and Taylah and Shelby looked at each other questioning what their friend had just said.

"OMFG, Alice, you can't just ask our teachers these things."

Lisbon _was_ caught off guard, and normally she wouldn't indulge in questions this personal, but these girls were different. In any case, it was just them, and she needed to find a way to distract them from Alice's predicament.

"As a matter of fact, I do not have a boyfriend."

Alice frowned. "A girlfriend then?" When her friends gasped, she shrugged. "I ain't judging, Ms. Lisbon."

Perhaps a different distraction would be better.

~...~

Abbott had planned a lot of activities during this entire trip, but what with Alice's accident, none of the students were paying attention to his explanations. Nevertheless, Abbott desperately tried to get them to do what he wanted, and if it hadn't been Cho interrupting him and temporarily dismissing the students, their director would probably still be talking about all the mandatory team building exercises they had to do.

The students hurried off to find their cabins and no doubt leave a complete mess in their wake. The teachers gathered their own items from the cars too and went to their cabins, deciding to meet up ten minutes from then to discuss the trip.

Wylie practically lost his shit upon entering his and Cho's space, his jaw dropping to the floor.

The cabins were not quite spacious but despite their size, they lacked nothing in luxury - whilst, of course, staying true to the true camper spirit. Which meant that even though everything was there, it was at a relatively basic level.

"I like this. _A lot_."

"Yeah. I figured."

Wylie dropped his bags and fell face-first onto one of the beds.

"Very retro," he murmured but the bed stopped most of the sounds from reaching Cho's ears. Thankfully. If he would have to spend an entire week with Jason Wylie there would be a big chance that they would both grow insane.

Cho didn't spend a lot of time on organizing his items; he simply put his duffel bag on one of the chairs and spread his jacket over it. He glanced into Wylie's direction. The younger man seemed asleep.

Cho shook his head and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air.

He was worried about his young friend, which was a strange occurrence considering he would never let his friends' drama into his head. If he would, it would probably explode.

Yet this was different, Cho knew. Or perhaps he was different this time around. Whatever the reason was, he wanted the drama to be dealt with so he could go back to work.

He saw another drama exiting one of the more distant cabins in much the same fashion as he had, no doubt glad to be in the great outdoors as well.

The blond man interested him, but why he did not know. Cho knew there was a story behind that 1000-watt smile that was probably too dark for anyone to find out, he could see it in his eyes. He was able to fool a lot of people, but not Cho.

Mr. Jane waved at him, that blinding smile greeting Cho even from this distance. Cho wondered how he managed to flash it at everybody the entire day, but then realized he probably had a lot of years of experience faking it.

"Mr. Cho," he stated as they approached each other.

"Mr. Jane."

They fell into a short silence, both looking at the _beautiful_ scenery of Lake Travis.

"I am looking-"

"If you hurt her, I'll hurt you."

Mr. Jane turned towards him. Cho expected the man to be confused at his blunt statement, but the blonde merely sighed.

"I have no intentions of courting her, Mr. Cho."

"Okay."

"Even if I did, I would tell her directly. I would not turn around the issue." Somehow, Cho doubted that but he was willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Not because he liked him, but because he was not quite fond of an argument that involved even more drama.

"Fair enough."

Mr. Jane smiled. "Although I do have to say, your intention to keep Ms. Lisbon from being hurt touches me."

He stared at Mr. Jane. What did he expect now, a full explanation of just why he protected her like this, and of how much he cares about her?

"She matters."

"That she does." Mr. Jane paused. "To me or to you?"

"It shouldn't matter. Look, Mr. Jane, she's damaged. If you're interested, tell her. If not, leave her alone."

Mr. Jane nodded. "Obviously."

As Mr. Jane walked away, Cho had more doubts than he had before. In the end, though, he wouldn't dive into the matter. He had enough drama left not to be dealt with.

~...~

A swarm of curious teenagers met up at the park's entrance, ready to see what state Alice was in. Or, more like, her arm, because as it turns out these teenagers were more than willing to see their fair share of blood and gore. Like an episode of Game of Thrones, but then right in front of their eyes. To say that they were disappointed when Alice stepped out of the parked car on her own, with a simple cast from her wrist to her elbow, was a gross understatement.

Ms. Lisbon waved at the group, semi enthusiastically, and the teenagers went back to their previous occupations.

Abbott greeted the four of them with a smile, yet it was noticeable that he wanted a quick update on what had happened.

"It's broken, she needs rest but she may assist us with babysitting if she wants to."

"And I do," Alice said with a smile, as though she was glad she didn't have to do these dull teambuilding exercises. On second thought, that was probably the reason she was smiling so much.

Abbott raised his eyebrows but nodded all the same.

"Fair enough."

He clapped with his hands and got most of the students' attention. Lisbon got the rest when she merely looked around.

"I thank you all for waiting for Alice to return. We will continue our initial program and see where we end up, considering we now have less time to finish the activities." Abbott stretched out his arm to look at his watch when Lisbon interrupted.

"When we're done with the activities, you get to do whatever you want except leave the camp grounds."

All students cheered, of course. Oddly enough, Jason Wylie joined too. Was he happy not to be doing anything of significance?

"We have several team building exercises around the field here, all accompanied by a piece of paper with instructions. All groups will face each other at least once, but for logistic reasons we couldn't avoid some facing each other twice. The teachers have a form with all the times in it." Abbott looked around at the teachers, then nodded. "All right. Enjoy!"

The students weren't quite interested in joining but they did nonetheless, some of them almost dragged out by their hyperactive counterparts. The teachers also tried to motivate their groups as much as possible.

Lisbon, after being asked by her girls, joined in on some games, if only to even out the number of students considering their group was with one student less after Alice's injury. She had to admit, she liked spending time like this, even though the games itself were tedious and only designed to make people hate each other. She'd had to do them when training for her current job as well and hadn't liked a single part of it. For these teens however it seemed like it was a lot of fun, most likely because they had already known each other for a while.

After about three rounds, having beat Wylie with twice as many points, she came face to face with Mr. Jane's group.

"Just Lisbon. What a pleasure."

"I hope you brought tissues because we're going to make you cry for your mommies."

Where did that come from? Heat of the moment, she supposed.

Mr. Jane raised his eyebrows, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Oh, are you, Ms. Lisbon?" He looked over his shoulder to his boys. "Because we were about to say the same thing."

"We haven't lost a single match."

"It's not about winning, it's participating that matters."

She huffed. "That's something only losers would say."

"I guess we will see, Ms. Lisbon."

She raised her chin in defiance and turned around to her girls. She had no idea what had just happened but she supposed she liked it, if the smile on her face was anything to go by.

Of course she beat him fair and square, which wasn't a surprise, to her at least. Mr. Jane looked like he had a hurt ego now but she wasn't going to tend to it. He would just have to suck it up. He likely had never experienced losing anything so there was a first to anything.

He passed her by when they moved to the next exercise, but he stepped just a bit closer so he could whisper in her ear.

"You're wrong about that."

With that, he walked away once again. This time, she was done with his secretive words and annoying shenanigans. She had to give him an ultimatum and quickly at that. If she wouldn't, she might actually cut his head off.

* * *

 **A/N: Also, shout out to Robin for having the most beautiful baby boy! And shout out to you for reading this story still!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This chapter is where, imo, this story becomes a bit more, well... Jisbon-y? I dunno. It took me forever to write this part so after this, I don't have a whole lot written. So, if I don't upload next week, I'm so sorry, but I'm still working on it! Have patience!**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 ** _Chapter 8_**

The evening passed by relatively quickly, with the teachers trying to keep the students from throwing cutlery at each other at dinner and the students trying to keep the teachers from eavesdropping on their 'private' conversations.

Lisbon only sometimes eyed Mr. Jane suspiciously when she thought he wasn't looking. There was definitely a story behind that smug face, and by this time she was determined to find out what that story was. If only to make sure he started acting professionally and would stop calling her stupid names.

All students eventually retired to their cabins. Although they obviously were not tired and would likely stay up all night, these kids were so intent on chatting with each other that they would not dare leave their cabins.

Some of the teachers retired early, too, chalking it up to being tired after this exhausting day. Abbott had already announced that he would remain awake until the very last individual went to bed - which sparked Lisbon's maternal feelings, making her join him.

"You didn't have to do this, Teresa," Abbott stated as he went and collected all cups and glasses that were loitering.

"I know."

He looked at her, and merely smiled. "You're too good for this world."

She rolled her eyes. "It's only staying up a little later, Sir."

"Alright. Fair enough. But please, call me Dennis."

She nodded.

When they cleared out all of the remaining trash, they closed the door of the common hall behind them and turned to each other.

"Don't be too hard on Mr. Jane, Teresa."

"I can't promise anything, Sir."

He nearly chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I expected nothing less. Good night."

"You too."

And then her seemingly endless journey started to her cabin, the inside of which she had never seen before, so she had no idea what she could be expecting. For all she knew, she had to share a god damn bed with Mr. Jane, which would be something she would forever be taunted for by said man.

~...~

She entered the cabin with a healthy sense of dread spreading in her belly. She should be glad that she got to go to sleep after the long day she had just had, but she couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen - like Mr. Jane wanting to throw a slumber party and keeping her up all night.

She didn't want to turn on any lights, afraid she might wake him up. That was, if he even was asleep. She had heard that he was a bad sleeper, but even he couldn't deny that today had been exhausting, right?

After getting ready for bed, she found her way in the dark to the nearest soft surface that hopefully represented a bed. She had no idea what the cabin looked like, really, so when she felt sheets she was mildly surprised at herself. By that time, her eyes had gotten used to the darkness and she could make out some shapes and figures. One quick glance at the rest of the bed told her that Mr. Jane was not in it.

She was too tired to worry about him - he was a grown man after all, and perhaps he had chosen a couch or something else that might have been gracing the interior.

She got comfortable and closed her eyes. A few moments went by, in which she briefly recapped her entire day just to put it behind-

"I did some bad things."

The sound that came out of her mouth was near inhuman, and she believed she jumped a few feet into the air. Only when she recognized the voice and realized who it had been that had interrupted the silence so rudely, did her fear manage to be replaced by anger.

"Jesus Christ, you scared the living daylights out of me!"

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."

"Right."

She heard the sheets ruffling near her, indicating that Mr. Jane was getting on the bed, too.

"I'm serious, Ms. Lisbon. I didn't mean to scare you."

 _Whatever_.

"Wait… what… kinds of bad things?"

It was silent for a while. She wondered whether he was backing out of this conversation now, but he had started it himself so she found she couldn't be blamed for being curious.

"I killed a man." He didn't miss a beat. She was frozen to the bed all of a sudden. "Pretty much in cold blood."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You wanted to know my tragic backstory."

"But _now_?"

"Alright. You want to do this another time?"

Now he had her full attention, and he probably knew it. She doubted this was intentional, however.

"No. I'm sorry. You just… caught me off guard with this."

She saw him nodding.

"I've been very secretive, and I realize I need to stop that." He sighed. "He killed my family. Angela and Charlotte, my wife and daughter. Spent a long time trying to find him, almost lost myself in the process. But I found him. Watched as life drained out of him." Silence. "I loved every second of it."

She had no idea what to do at that moment. Admittedly, she had never experienced such a thing and would probably never experience it ever again, but she felt rather stupid just sitting there, saying nothing.

"Please promise me that this will stay between us. For the moment, at least. I worked hard to get this job, considering it's not preferred to hire a murderer to educate our children."

"How did you do it?"

"I know a lot of people who owe me-"

"No, I mean, how did you kill him?"

Again, silence. For the first time in forever she felt an enormous need to put a hand on someone's arm, just to let them know that she was there and that she was listening.

"I strangled him."

This entire time he had been looking anywhere but at her, but now he looked up, their eyes crossing.

"Are you okay?"

He knew what she meant.

"I am now." He sighed. "I miss them every day, but not like before. The pain is bearable now."

No more words were spoken for a while, she looking at him and he looking somewhere else.

"My mother died when I was twelve," she started. She got his attention as soon as she spoke. "Left me and my brothers with our father. He was alright at first, but the grief got to him. Started hitting my brothers and me, but especially me." She looked down. Why was she sharing all of this? With him, of all people. "He killed himself two years later. I was left with my brothers and no parents, so naturally I took care of them. Became my own mother and father at the same time. Almost lost myself, but I think I turned out alright. My brothers, too."

She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Likewise."

After a few seconds, she coughed and averted her eyes.

"Why did you decide to tell me now?" she asked him.

"I thought it was long overdue."

She shifted, moving into a more comfortable sitting position. What was he getting on to? Something told her she was not going to like it.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have started this."

She frowned.

"What is it you wanted to start in the first place?"

She noticed him moving closer. For some reason, it seemed like his breathing sounded wacky, as though he was nervous about something. And for some reason, her heart started beating faster.

"I, uh… as coworkers, I think we deserved to know what brought us both here."

She coughed again. This was obviously not what he was intending to tell her, but she wasn't going to push him. She didn't even know what he wanted to tell her in the first place, but she suspected it was not something she wanted to find out more about.

"You're right. Thank you, for being so honest with me."

He remained silent. She lay down again, settling in, pulling the thin covers over herself even though she really didn't need them in the warm Texas climate.

"Teresa?"

She was so caught off guard by him using her first name that she barely managed to breathe. Still, she did, but how she did not know.

"Yes?"

"I… goodnight."

"Yeah. Goodnight."

She couldn't really calm down that weird, nagging feeling inside her.

* * *

 **A/N: I felt that for the time allowed in this story, it was best if Jane already killed RJ. Also, now that he is dead, there's way more Jane to explore than just that terrible guilt-filled Jane. Anyway, thanks for reading! Oh, also, for that one anon who asked: Robin's son is called Oscar Holly!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: (I missed another day so yeah. I was out catching Pokémon all day long, can't believe I would ever get to say that but yeah.) So, there we go! I think this is the chapter you have all been waiting for! Okay, I won't spoil anything, so start reading, _NOW_!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 9**_

She woke up a few hours later. For some reason, she instantly knew that it wasn't time to get up yet, but it might have been a combination of the setting dawn outside and the fact that she was still tired. She wanted to turn around and close her eyes again, but as they quickly roamed the room, she found Mr. Jane's sleeping form - he had apparently ended up choosing for an inflatable mattress.

He looked rather peaceful like this, more at peace than she had ever seen him. His blonde curls framed the top of his head gracefully, and she quickly wondered what they would feel like if she ran her hands through them.

Wait, Teresa Lisbon, back it up. You're not attracted to him, you don't even like him, you're just thinking this because you haven't waken up with a man in the same room as you for a long time. Act your age, not your shoe size.

She thought back to what Wylie had told her a few weeks ago - _no_. She had to stop thinking like this, or she might start something she had no intention of continuing.

She sighed and turned around, closing her eyes once again. She had a bad feeling about Mr. Jane.

~...~

"This exercise is all about trusting each other. If you don't trust your partners, you will definitely fall, and it will definitely hurt." So much for subtlety, Mr. Cho. Although he was right, he had never quite found a filter between thought and lips. Still, it could be worse.

"Good morning, just Lisbon." Speak of the devil. She turned towards him, ready to throw the first insult of the day to him when his face registered - there were bags underneath his eyes, and to be honest, they didn't look pretty.

He smiled at her, and even though everything screamed exhaustion, and even though it was but a small one, it was sincere.

"Did you even sleep?" she asked him, her voice low to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

"Had trouble to. I couldn't shut off thoughts."

"And why is that, exactly?" She didn't really know what he was getting at - again. Had there been a secret meaning to their conversation she hadn't gotten? Why else would he still be thinking about it?

He looked her in the eyes but didn't answer. She frowned, but chose to look away.

She focused on Cho's explanation of the exercise they were supposed to be doing. It was a trust fall exercise, with the participants forming up in a circle with an individual in the middle. She knew this one - she had done it often in the past.

Her group was linked to Wylie's this time, which gave her some more time with him. As the gals and boys of their groups were having a lot of fun together, she and Wylie sat down in the near dried up grass, looking over their students.

"So how's-"

"Don't. Please." He didn't meet her eyes. "I came here to have a distraction from Michelle. I appreciate the concern but I would rather not talk about it atm."

She nodded.

"How was Mr. Jane?"

Odd phrasing. He seemed to have noticed too, and corrected himself.

"I mean, how was sharing a room with him?"

She thought about telling him what she and Mr. Jane had talked about but quickly realized that what they had shared was to stay strictly between the two of them. In any case, she wouldn't want him to go around the block boasting about all the information he had just gathered from her, so she would treat his information the same way.

"It was okay. Nothing special happened or anything. He slept on a mattress on the floor."

"That's nice of him."

Now this conversation felt a little bit awkward.

"How was sharing the room with Cho?"

Wylie chuckled a bit. He really was a precious soul.

"Damn, Teresa, that man is stubborn. I mean, I already knew he was but I saw him in a whole new light."

She smiled. She knew how stubborn Cho was, she had known him for years. Still, it was amusing to hear people complain about her best friend's stubbornness when they weren't used to it.

"You know, Cho thinks that you and Jane are, you know…" He raised his eyebrows, as though that was enough explanation.

"Whatever."

Wylie had an amused glint in his eyes. "I'm on your side, however. There is nothing going on between you two."

"That's correct." She emphasized that sentence with a firm nod of her head. Yet, she didn't feel so certain about that stance anymore. After what had happened the night before, and his hesitation to tell the truth, she was uncertain whether certain feelings hadn't actually changed. Not even particularly from her side, but perhaps he was under the impression she liked him, so he consequently liked her too?

Damn. When had her life turned so complicated?

~...~

Next exercise on Abbott's tight schedule was literally a walk in the park. Only the students were graced with assignments they had to make, which mainly consisted of questions about the nature, etc.

It gave the teachers the opportunity to do something else, yet they had to stay relatively close to the camp in case of an emergency.

Alice was managing well with her cast, although she did understandably accept any help that was thrown her way. Lisbon was not surprised to see her standing beside Shawn when everybody was making plans to meet up.

"Ms. Lisbon?"

"Yes, Alice?"

"Is it okay if we team up again with Mr. Jane's group?"

Lisbon looked to the side, searching for Mr. Jane to get his opinion, but she couldn't find him anywhere. No problem, she would just decide for herself.

"It's fine with me, just make sure Mr. Jane also agrees."

"Will do, thank you, Ms. Lisbon!"

Alice smiled and turned to Shawn. "Now you're gonna have to do that favor for me!"

Shawn smiled at her and nodded, almost in defeat. He surprised her by picking her up bridal style. He lowered his face to hers.

"No problem."

They walked away from her loudly laughing and Lisbon was left figuring out what had happened. However, she was happy for them, they had been excluded from a lot of High School romance for so long that there was not really anyone who deserved it more than they did.

She watched her other girls leaving as well, most of them piggyback riding Mr. Jane's boys. Wylie waved at her as he and Cho disappeared into the opposite direction. She sighed and turned around, trying to figure out what she would do with her time off. Perhaps she could finish up grading of those tests that she had taken with her, kill some time until the first students would come back. Yes, she would do that.

She walked into the direction of her cabin when she noticed Mr. Jane in the distance. She thought of those tests that she had to grade, still - if she wouldn't do that now, she would have to do that when she got back home. Well. It wasn't like she had a life anyway, so she would have plenty of time to do that.

"Mr. Jane."

His head turned her way, and he got a smile on his face as his eyes crossed hers.

"Just Lisbon! Always a pleasure."

She had no idea where it came from, but she felt a slight buzz in her belly.

"Did you have any plans?"

He shook his head, looking at his feet. "Not really. You?"

"Nope." She looked around a bit. "Will you walk with me?"

"Of course."

They walked away from the camp and into a different direction than everybody else had, all the while maintaining a comfortable silence - at least from her perspective. Finally, they reached a small open area with a single log. He waved for her to sit down and she did, and he sat beside her.

"I want to bring back the topic we were discussing before."

She frowned. "What topic?"

"Me never minding my own business."

"Ah."

He turned his head towards her, and when she looked up at him, looked away again.

"I am really sorry… for making an ass out of myself. Especially around you."

She looked his way.

"It's alright."

"No, it's not. You were about the only person who helped me when I first got here. And despite me being so rude to you, you continued to be nice. That's… amazing."

Their eyes crossed when he looked towards her.

" _You_ 're amazing."

She swallowed but didn't dare say anything. Her hands started shaking a little bit. She did not know if she was alright with the direction his words were taking. She couldn't possibly pretend not to know what he meant with his words.

"May I be honest with you, Ms. Lisbon?"

She frowned. "You can always be honest with me, Mr. Jane."

He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Fuck it, I'm doing this," he muttered. "Ms. Lisbon… what would you do if I kissed you?"

Words caught in her throat, and she tried to swallow to make room for any sound whatsoever to come out of her throat. After a few seconds she finally managed to articulate some words.

"You can call me Teresa," she said, as both of them moved towards each other until they were so close she could feel his breath against her face. It felt surprisingly pleasant.

"Teresa… I think I'm falling in love with you."

She looked into his eyes and saw that he was holding something back - what, she didn't know.

"You think?"

He smiled. For the first time since meeting Mr. Jane, she felt butterflies in her belly. She knew they had been there for a while, was painfully aware of it now.

"No. I know I am. Head over heels."

"Then in that case," she started, putting one of her hands in his neck, "I would probably kiss you back."

"Even if this is the worst possible timing I have ever showcased?"

"I've seen worse."

She closed the distance between them and linked their lips. As a response, Mr. Jane put both of his thumbs on her cheeks, cupping her face, and she smiled, not being able to stop herself.

Okay. So maybe Wylie had been right all along? She wouldn't tell him, of course.

But as he moved one of his hands to brush her cheek, she noticed the cold feel of - his wedding ring. She had let herself get so caught up in the moment that she had forgotten the reason she shouldn't be feeling anything for Mr. Jane. It didn't matter how good it had felt to kiss him.

She jumped back. His eyes were still close in what looked like bliss.

"You're married."

He opened his eyes. He first looked her in the eye, then focused on his wedding ring, then on her again.

"I was."

He lowered both of his hands and sighed.

"I forgot to mention." Under his breath, he added, "I'm such an idiot."

He looked her in the eyes.

"After my wife died, I couldn't bring myself to take it off. It reminds me of her." He took one of her hands in his. "Please don't let this get in the way of anything. I promise, I will take it off when I'm ready. I promise I'm not married. And I promise… that I really, _really_ like you. I know that my timing is bad, it really couldn't have been worse. And I know that I haven't been nice lately, even though you might disagree. But I also know that you make me happy every time I see you and you don't even need to try. You can just yell at me and I'll feel at peace. Really, I need someone to yell at me from time to time."

She had to laugh at that, because it was the truest thing he had probably ever told her. He reached out his hand and brushed her cheek.

"Teresa Lisbon, I like you. A lot."

She smiled. It felt like all of this went so fast, but then again, they weren't sixteen anymore. They didn't need a written confirmation on a sneaky sticky-note to know that they were alright with holding hands. They were adults, no reason to beat around the bush. He was seemingly attracted to her, and she was also apparently attracted to him - even though she hadn't known until about fifteen minutes ago.

No. That wasn't true. She shouldn't lie to herself. She _had_ known, but had never had the guts to make herself think about it properly. Perhaps it was stubbornness, perhaps it was fear to have a rerun of her previous relationships in her adult life.

Whatever the reason, she had to put it aside now. She deserved this, deserved him, and she knew it too.

"Patrick Jane," the usage of his full name brought a smile to his lips, which oddly enough made her want to kiss him again, "it's a bit of a shock, and it did throw me off guard, but, I like you, too. It's a work in progress, though."

His face showed nothing but happiness, and a portion of it might have been eagerness too. For what, she did not know, but she would probably find out soon.

"That's more than I could have hoped for." He scooted closer to her on the log until their knees were touching. Placing one hand in the back of her neck, he pulled her towards him ever so slightly and linked their lips.

Just as she was about to open her lips to grant him more of her, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Jesus Christ."

She jumped up and both of their hands dropped, one of his landed on her hand but he didn't take it off. Oddly enough, her lips were still tingling.

"I'm so sorry."

After looking Mr. Jane in the eye for a split second, she turned around and faced the person who had so rudely interrupted her perfect moment.

"I asked Mr. Abbott where you were, and he said you were here... Do you want me, to, uh… go?"

"No, Shelby, it's alright."

"I won't tell anyone what I saw, I promise."

Lisbon simply scooted over and patted a spot on the log in between her and Mr. Jane. Shelby complied, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Mr. Jane can't know, though."

Shelby turned to him, as did Lisbon, and he shrugged.

"Hurts, but I understand." Despite the implied meaning behind his words, his smile told them he didn't mind. He got up and looked at Lisbon. "See you later, just Lisbon."

For goodness sake, even after them declaring their feelings to one another, he would _still_ call her names. There was no way she would be able to survive him.

As Mr. Jane left and Lisbon focused on Shelby again, she noticed the girl was smiling faintly.

"Ms. Lisbon," she started, almost managing to swallow her chuckle, "I dunno what I saw, and I will not be talkin' about it to anyone."

"Alright, Shelby." Lisbon couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at the girl's awkwardness, but was of course a little worried that she would tell what she had seen to somebody else. Lisbon didn't even know what she was feeling herself, she didn't want anyone interfering. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Shelby's awkwardness from before vanished quickly, and she looked down.

"I just… I couldn't really sleep last night, not properly anyway. I… I just kept thinking about my parents. I want them to be alright, but my dad deserves better than this."

"Has anything improved since the last time we spoke?"

Shelby thought for a moment, probably not thinking about whether there had been any chance, but rather what she would answer to that question.

"I don't want my life to turn into one of these annoying soap operas, Ms. Lisbon."

 _You and me both, Shelby Ford. You and me both._

"I understand."

Shelby looked at her again. Lisbon saw even more hurt in her eyes than ever before.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Shelby? Anything at all?"

"I could stay with you?"

"Oh… no, Shelby. You can't."

"But why not? I would feel a hundred times more safe with you!"

Lisbon sighed. "I'm your teacher. I would get into all sorts of trouble. Besides, there are other ways to help."

"Like what?"

Ms. Lisbon looked at the young girl. She wished she could take her in like she had done with Wylie, but that would definitely be inappropriate and even though this girl was very special, Lisbon could not break the law for her.

"I could try and get you into a temporary family."

"But then I would have to leave my parents!"

Lisbon almost chuckled. "And staying with me would allow you to stay with your parents? Shelby, I know you're smart, and I know you care about your parents. But you are allowed to put yourself first every once in awhile, too. Especially when it comes to something as heavy as this." Lisbon sighed, but not in a way that might have alerted Shelby into thinking that she didn't care. "What is it you want me to do for you, Shelby?"

Shelby lowered her head.

"That family sounds nice…"

Lisbon wished she could wrap Shelby up in her arms and make everything better for her. But alas, she could never make actual physical contact with most people at the school in fear of being reprimanded. Besides, she knew none of that would help Shelby.

"I will do my best to help you, alright?"

"Alright."

Lisbon got up, and the girl immediately followed.

"Thank you, Ms. Lisbon, for your help."

Shelby still looked so vulnerable that Lisbon almost hesitated to send her back to the other students, but she had to. But in that moment, she decided that if the girl would ask for a hug, she would give it to her. She didn't care about school policies if it meant one of her students was suffering more than she should be.

The girl turned around and moved to walk away, and Lisbon joined her, but something in the girl made her stop for a moment.

"Ms. Lisbon? Stupid question, probably, but… could I get a hug? I, uh, could really use one, I guess…"

"Of course. Just this once, though."

And she wrapped her arms around her, realizing that oddly enough, any physical contact like this had been ages ago, probably for both of them. God, she was such a loner.

Well. Perhaps Mr. Jane could change that? She would have slapped herself for having that thought if she didn't notice that she was still holding Shelby, and the girl's breathing was suddenly very off.

She was crying. Lisbon needed to find a solution for this, ASAP. And it had to be more than soothing her with nice words.

She pushed the girl a little bit away from her so she could look her in the eyes as she spoke.

"Shelby, I will be honest with you: I have told Mr. Abbott about this, but only because we both want this to be resolved for you as soon as possible." She rubbed the girl's upper arms. She lowered her voice a little.

"I know that right now, it might seem like you will never get through this, trust me, I do. And I know that nothing I will say will actually mean anything to you, but I just want you to know that it will all be good in the end. Alright? It might not be tonight, or next week, or next month. But eventually, everything will sort itself out. We are doing all that we can to be there for you."

Shelby nodded.

They remained there standing like that for a while, until Shelby straightened her shoulders and sniffed one last time, showing Lisbon that she was alright, for the moment.

"Thank you, Ms. Lisbon."

"You're very welcome, Shelby. Now don't think about it too much anymore and try to enjoy spending time with your friends. That's vital, alright?"

Shelby smiled. "Yes. See you later."

And she walked away into the direction her friends were no doubt waiting for her. Lisbon took another direction, back to the camp, where she expected every teacher to be gone except for Mr. Abbott, yet she noticed Mr. Jane was lying down on a small patch of grass near their common hall. There was nobody else around, but she suspected that Mr. Abbott was inside.

Oh well, if he needed them, he had their numbers.

* * *

 **A/N: This was the toughest to write - seriously, I rewrote this scene like four times, until I decided that fack it, I did not have the time to do that over and over again considering I'm nearing the end of my internship and have to finish my report. So, there you go! Also, I will keep this story T-rated, I think. Not sure yet. Probably. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Aight, folks. This is all I have so far. I have worked five days in a row, and I know that doesn't sound like a lot but I usually have four days in a row and then two days off. Now, I had five days of work, then today off, and then three days again. Also, I have to finish my final report for my internship which is almost done, but I will have more time hopefully next week. I hope I will be able to write more for you guys in the upcoming few days!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 ** _'Dismissed'_**

 ** _Chapter 10_**

She came to stand beside him, blocking his sun. His arms were folded on his stomach, his legs crossed at the ankles. She didn't say anything, and his eyes were closed, but the small smile that showed up on his lips told her that he knew it was her.

"How is Miss Ford?"

"She will be alright, hopefully sooner rather than later."

He nodded. His eyes were still closed. After a few seconds, he raised his upper body and put one arm underneath him, leaning on his elbow.

"Just Lisbon, will you agree that we went quite fast back there?"

She frowned, but immediately understood what he meant. Or at least, had a general idea of what he meant. She knew she would never be able to totally understand his ways.

She wasn't going to complain about their quick start, though. They might have started whatever they had now too fast, but she didn't regret starting it, and she didn't regret letting him either.

Still, she was scared of what he really meant. Did she really understand him? Was _he_ regretting this? She didn't know what she would do if that was the case.

"I haven't even taken you out for dinner yet."

She let out a sigh of relief and couldn't stop a small, nervous smile from showing up on her lips. She lowered herself to the ground, too, sitting on her legs, while he kept rambling about where they might be able to go for their first date.

"I have never really been good at thinking of creative date ideas-"

She cut him off by kissing him, cupping his cheeks like he had done before. She noticed he was caught a bit off guard by her bold action, but he wasn't complaining, either.

He wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her close, until their chests were as close as they possibly could be with their current positions. She had to lean on her hands so she wouldn't fall over, but in the end, her fall was almost inevitable. She landed with her upper body on top of him, and they were forced to break up the kiss.

He wrapped his other arm around her, too, and she looked up at him.

She couldn't believe how far they had come in just, what, fifteen minutes? But this had been a long time coming. Why else had her friends and coworkers pointed out that she might have a thing for him? They had known long before she had. Honestly, she should just start to focus on the future instead of the past. She had always been such an advocate of moving on, and she was ironically very bad at it herself.

He chuckled and ran a hand through her hair, looking down at her.

"I'm the worst possible boyfriend material that you will ever find."

"Try me."

He squeezed her arm with his free hand.

"I'm serious. I haven't had a relationship in years. I don't know how to act like a decent human being because I haven't cared about anyone, in… in years. It… is scary." He reclined his head and rested it on the ground. "I came to this school hoping I could get some entertainment. I never expected… to find someone like you. It… it scares me so much. But at the same time… it feels so good. And trust me, I would try everything within my might to protect you from me, to push you away so you won't feel the destruction that is me… but I also want to just hold you close and never let go. To shield you from everything that might face you, face…"

 _Us_ , she finished in her head. It was too early for that, hopefully for now.

"I don't need to be protected, though."

He looked at her.

"I know. But I want to."

He kept looking at her, seeming to pierce her soul, and she felt like he could read everything there was to read about her.

"Let's get you out of this dirt," he said, and got up, making sure she did, too.

"Is there anything you would like to do?" she asked him, brushing some dried up dirt off her clothing.

"I love to watch you." His eyes would have turned into two little hearts if it was biologically possible.

She rolled her eyes. "You're not going to stare at me all day."

He smiled.

"Alright. Alright." He put both his hands on her hips and pulled her close. He nuzzled her neck and she sighed, loving his body so close to hers. One of his hands slowly moved up to the back of her neck, and her skin felt aflame wherever he touched her. She felt his lips turn into a smile against her skin, and her heart skipped a beat.

Okay. So she might have a problem now. How would she be able to not be beside him from this moment on?

* * *

 **A/N: Alright, that's all I have for now. Thanks so much for reading and for your support so far. Smell ya later, punks!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So once again, this is what I have so far, but I hope I will have more next week as I'm approaching my last days at my internship and have some more time now. Hope you like what I have for you!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 11**_

They eventually decided to make a walk down the same paths that the students did. To prevent anyone from finding out about what they were trying to carefully build up, they didn't hold hands, and tried not to look at each other, even though they both wanted to.

They talked about nothing too significant, most of it just light banter and Lisbon describing some incredulous moments she had experienced during her years at the school.

He listened to her attentively, showing sincere interest, and it felt good to have someone to listen to her. Granted, she had more people who listened to her, but she didn't always get the feeling that everybody was always registering what she was saying.

She made the mistake of looking over at him and felt her heart leap as her eyes rested on his features. So beautiful. She couldn't wait until she had some more time with him.

After about an hour they returned to the cabins, seeing that most students had already returned and were busy with their phones or conversing with each other. Mr. Abbott met them with a small smile on his face - Lisbon decided that she didn't really like that smile.

"Glad you could make it, too. Mr. Jane, you may start whatever you wanted to do now."

Mr. Jane nodded and stepped to the front, flashing a small smile at Lisbon. Now she was scared of what he was going to do, and as soon as he claimed everybody's attention by clapping in his hands, her stomach turned. Was he going to do something incredibly stupid now?

"Ladies and gentlemen. At the start of our journey here I let it be known to most of you that I know exactly what it was that you wanted, more than anything in the world. Right now, I will reveal it." The students turned to their peers and some giggled, probably expecting some huge embarrassment. To be honest, Lisbon didn't know what she expected, either.

He started off with the student to his outer left, and gave him a miniature toy car, leaving the boy with an endearing smile on his face.

Lisbon thought back to when he arrived at their school before they left: he had said that he had a few errands to run. She immediately remembered that he said he had a surprise for her. Had his declarations of attraction been the surprise, or did he have something else in store for her?

How very selfish of her to think like that. Some of these kids didn't have much, and he was cheering up their little lives with a small beam of light, even though it was a very small one.

As he was halfway through the group of eager students, he looked over his shoulder at her.

She couldn't shake the feeling that he could read her every thought.

~...~

Wylie sat beside her as everyone joined in the common room for dinner. He greeted her, and first moved to type in some things in his phone before he looked back up at her as though he was burned.

"Something changed about you," he stated, putting his phone down.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Obviously, she did though. For future reference, the fact that she was blushing also didn't help her.

He raised an eyebrow at her, seemingly going over appropriate responses in this situation, but most likely realized that there weren't any. He just shrugged and continued with his phone.

Lisbon looked at the young man. He was right - something had changed about her, and she knew it too. She hadn't looked in the mirror since Mr. Jane had kissed her, but she wouldn't be surprised if she had a slight blush on her cheeks, one that wasn't caused by Wylie blatantly pointing out what he had. Then again, if someone asked her, she would say that it was the sun.

Mr. Jane joined them at the table, followed by Cho, who, like always, didn't show a lot of emotions on his face. Mr. Jane, however, smiled sweetly at them, but since Wylie was caught up in his phone, it was mainly aimed at her.

"Just Lisbon."

She nodded, trying to keep down her smile, looking over at Cho.

He didn't move a freaking muscle. How could he remain so impassive?

"Mr. Jane."

They had been carrying food for all four of them and Mr. Jane first pushed a plate her way, then Wylie's. He then raised a fry and popped it into his mouth.

"It was awfully nice of you, what you did back there."

Mr. Jane swallowed his food before replying to her comment.

"You have to be more specific, just Lisbon. I'm nice so often these days."

Her jaw almost dropped to the floor. The confident son of a bitch! How could anyone have that much confidence? Was this because she had confessed that she liked him, too? Had she stroked his ego too much?

"So you weren't before?"

"Nah. Not by default."

While she was trying to come up with something smart to say, Mr. Jane interrupted her.

"Just Lisbon, I can be very bad."

Wylie choked on the fry he was trying to eat, while Cho just raised an eyebrow.

She just stared at him. Had he actually, genuinely just said that? Or had she just imagined it?

His eyes told her that he was just playing with her, she figured anyway because there was a glint in them. She hated his guts.

"Oh, well, I do not wish to be on the receiving end of your bad behavior then."

The glint intensified. So he liked her playing along? He could get it now.

"Oh?"

"No."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but she didn't let him. She extended her foot and kicked his shin, making him contort his face in what seemed to be more of shock than pain.

"Mr. Jane, I can be bad, too."

The shock on his face slowly turned into something akin to joy, and he nodded.

"Alright. Thanks, just Lisbon, for the compliment about my actions 'back there'. I try my best to be nice from time to time."

And he did, she knew that now. Although he had been an asshole to her most of the time, he had moments in which he was really sweet - and they weren't even all today, after he had told her about his feelings. It had happened before that, too, but she had been so busy with hating him that she hadn't had time to look at the bright side of him and his personality.

Now that she had time to look at him from a distance, she was reminded of his beauty even more. She saw his gorgeous blond curls that framed his face at the front, his curious blue eyes that looked slightly green when he turned to look at the others, his shoulders broad but not too much, just enough. And she didn't know if they had been there before, but she noticed some freckles on his cheeks. They had probably been brought out by the non-stop sunlight during this trip. He had a ridiculously old fashioned clothing style, but his suits were obviously tailored especially for him, which made them hug his frame perfectly. His hands, now that she was taking in everything, were very big, and she suddenly found herself imagining how they would feel on her body. She stopped that thought before it got out of hand.

"Just Lisbon, your fries are getting cold."

They continued their meal in silence. Mr. Jane kept looking at her, however, and something about the way he did made her feel warm inside.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading so far! See you next week!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So sorry I missed yesterday! Had a lot to do, so little time! Please, enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 12**_

They all retired to their cabins, this time more teachers staying up a little later to clean up the common hall. Lisbon once again got into a conversation with Wylie, even though it was just a short one. Something had changed about him, too, she noticed. Considering he was not likely to have found a new woman to love, there had to be something that had changed with Michelle. Lisbon was determined to find out what it was.

Mr. Jane opened the door for her, and she both liked and hated his gentlemanly ways. She was about to point it out to him, when she noticed his pupils were fully dilated as she turned towards him. His eyes had been on her the entire time.

Suddenly, she couldn't stop herself anymore. He had taunted her all day long, ever since they first kissed - if he liked her so much, he could have her.

She closed the distance between them and linked their lips, and he responded immediately, swinging his arms around her to pull her close.

The big hands she had noticed before roamed her body, setting her nerves on fire. She gasped into his mouth as he cupped her bottom, and she pulled on the hairs in the back of his neck.

When she moved to his front and went to unbutton his vest, he pulled away from her lips.

"I don't want to go too fast," he whispered, even though his hands told her something else. "We can take our time. We can even do this another time, if you want."

She slowed down her movements as a reaction to his words. She was surprised - most men she had been with had been so blinded by lust at this point that they wouldn't stop, even if she wanted them to. And here he was - a man, whose lust and eagerness was slowly poking against her stomach, taking his time with her, wanting to savor her and not rush her into anything. His admiration for her was obvious, and it made her realize that she admired him, too, adored him. She wouldn't be able to give a valid reason why, she simply did.

She brushed his cheek and rested her other hand on his chest.

"If we don't do this now, I don't think I will be able to sleep this night."

His breath fanned her face, but aside from some twinkling in his eyes, she didn't get much of a response.

She needed him, probably way more than he needed her. She had an itch inside her that needed to be scratched, but she needed his full cooperation.

She softly pushed him away.

"You know what, you're right. We should do this another time."

Turning around, walking over to the bed in the middle of the room, she took the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

She heard footsteps behind her but they didn't come any closer. The curtains ruffled, she wanted to know what he was doing. She wanted to turn towards him, but just as she was about to, she felt his body against her back, his lips on her neck, his hands cupping everything he could find.

"Teresa," he breathed near her ear, and the use of her first name had never brought on such an intense reaction - her entire body felt as though it was on fire. Now she knew why he had reacted the way he had when she had used his first name. "If we do this now, I will not be able to stop."

She nodded and grabbed one of his hands for balancing purposes.

"Please." It was the only thing she could muster. He moved her towards the bed and made her lie down. At that moment, all rational thought left her, as Mr. Jane - no, _Patrick_ \- crouched down beside the bed and took one of her legs in his hands, kissing her ankle.

"Patrick…"

He slowly crawled up her body to link their lips, immediately understanding what she needed.

She loved him. She couldn't unsee that anymore. She would fight the world just to get some more time with him.

~...~

He woke up in the middle of the night when he tried to move onto his other side, but a warm object that was pressed against his side prevented him from doing so. He looked down, some of his muscles were protesting, but he had to look. He was met by the sight of the most beautiful woman he had seen in years. Snuggled against his chest. Not just warming his body, but warming his entire soul.

He got a lump in his throat and he felt he couldn't breathe past it, so he kissed the top of her head and slowly but surely left the bed, making sure she was comfortable and still asleep.

He got himself something to drink and splashed his face with water at the sink. Muscles that he hadn't used in a while were aching, and it felt good, it reminded him of what he had done with Teresa.

When he returned to the main room, he noticed she hadn't moved a lot since he had left her.

He had meant his words - he hadn't expected to find something like this when he had come to the school. He had hoped he would be distracted from his eternal boredom with the chance to teach the younger generation a bit more than they already knew. He had entered the school on that first day with a healthy dose of regret and reluctance, but it had all faded when he had first laid eyes on her. Oddly enough, ever since that first moment he had seen her, most of his thoughts revolved around her.

He sat down in an armchair placed in the corner of the room, where he had a perfect view of her.

He had gone too fast, he knew it. She deserved way more, deserved a romantic declaration of his love, with rose petals at the beach with the sun setting casting a beautiful glow over her perfect face. She deserved the best champagne he could afford while they were having a picnic with fireworks going off in the sky.

Instead, all he had given her was a rushed declaration on a stupid tree log, because he had been so eager to be with her, kiss her, see that beautiful smile on her lips.

And now, he had made love with her, multiple times at that, and it had been on the same day as his rushed declaration. He hadn't even told her he loved her. He had been numb with love, he hadn't been able to say much yet. To top it all off, he didn't want the entire neighborhood and their students to join in on their lovemaking so they'd had to stay relatively quiet.

And to imagine that he hadn't intended to make this step for at least a few days… but he hoped she knew that she meant a lot to him. He should voice it, however, or else she might never know.

"All that frowning might give you a headache," he heard her soft voice fill the room, pulling him out of his deep thoughts. He focused on her tiny frame again.

She put an elbow underneath her and her face came into sight. Her lips were slightly red, likely from all the time he had been desperate to kiss her, and her hair was a mess, but she looked so beautiful she took his breath away.

"What are you thinking of?"

He didn't respond, and now it was her time to frown. She got up and the thin comforter slid off her naked body, and he was only barely capable of keeping his small gasp in as his body responded to her beauty.

Her hips swayed when she walked towards him, and she probably did it without thinking about it. She put one hand on his shoulder as she climbed on his lap, straddling his legs.

"I don't know how to do this, Teresa."

She frowned even more.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, and rested both of his hands on her hips.

"I mean… I don't know how to do… relationships. I don't want you to… to look back in a few days, or weeks, or months, and think… that we went too fast and that you're not ready for this. I don't want you to think that you're just an easy lay for me." When he saw how attentively she was listening to him, with love pouring out of her eyes, he lost the fight he had been having against his tears, and it felt like they came all the way from his toes.

"I never wanted anything in my life that I couldn't stand losing… it's too late for that now." He cupped her face with both of his hands, while she held his wrists, the corners of her mouth turned down as a reaction to his tears. He was such a pussy, but couldn't go back now. "Teresa Lisbon, I love you. I am consumed by the desire to be with you, to talk with you and to be by your side."

His tears brought out her tears, too, and within seconds, they were both sobbing in each other's arms. No, this was not how he wanted it to go! It needed to be romantic, but instead they were just crying so much they could barely utter words. Why was he such a blabbermouth?

"I love you," she whispered, although it was more sobbing what she did, and he kissed her then, with all his might, showing her how much it meant to him that she was here with him, and that he was hers.

In the past few weeks, he hadn't wanted to admit what she was slowly becoming, and he hadn't given much thought to his changing feelings. He knew now that he had slowly been falling in love with her; every day they had worked together, every witty joke she had thrown at him, every time she pretended to hate him, he had been drawn closer to her. Like a mermaid she had called him in, and now he was here, with no other way than further, together.

This was the woman he wanted to grow old with. He had experienced this before, and had failed to protect her. But this woman, this little firecracker - he would try everything he could to protect her. Even if she insisted she didn't need his protection.

He recovered before she did, the tears she was shedding now more likely brought on by exhaustion, and he brushed them away, every single one that showed up and dared to touch her cheeks.

Eventually, she looked up into his eyes, and cracked an embarrassed little smile.

"Are you sore?" he asked her, brushing some left-over tears from her cheeks. She took in a deep breath and nodded. He traced her lips with one finger, admiring the texture of them, knowing he would never get enough of her. "Let's get you to bed, then. We'll just sleep."

He put both of his arms underneath her and lifted her, feeling a slight buzz of victory, feeling like her knight carrying her out of danger, even though he would never be her hero. He wasn't a hero. Whatever he was, though, he was hers. If she wanted him, she could have him. All of him. He was a terrible boyfriend, but he would be _her_ terrible boyfriend.

* * *

 **A/N: Let me know what you think, please!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Compared to the previous chapters, this one is extra long, and it's my personal gift to you - as a means of celebrating that I graduated last week! I have a lot finished for this story, don't know how long it will go on for still, but know that many good things are still coming! This chapter is a bit more hurt than the previous ones, but I hope it will sort of be justified. Just enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 13**_

She woke up aching all over, her muscles straining with every movement she made, but it felt good. It had been ages since she had felt this way, and she knew exactly what had caused it. Memories of the night before came back to her, and it brought a smile to her face.

She could smell coffee in the air, and frowned. She hadn't made coffee, and she wasn't even sure if there was a coffee machine in the cabin. She sat up in bed and groaned as her muscles screamed at her to stop. She was met by the smiling face of the person who was the sole reason for her soreness.

"I made you coffee," he whispered, sitting down on the bed beside her and handing her a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, he was almost fully dressed. "Careful, it's still hot."

He watched as she took a sip, and she smiled into her cup, almost choking as she swallowed a little giggle.

"Just the way you like it, huh?"

"How did you know?"

He just stared at her, moving his head a bit from one side to the other.  
"Do you ever think you'll stop asking me this question?" When she simply took a sip of her still scorching coffee, he looked down. "I've seen you make it a hundred times, just Lisbon. Besides, it's just coffee."

The use of his favorite nickname for her made her roll her eyes, but then she huffed when she heard his coffee insult.

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me. It's just coffee. Coffee is coffee."

"Well, then tea is just tea."

He clutched his chest and gasped, and she rolled her eyes once again, taking another sip. He let himself fall onto the bed with his hand still on his chest, feigning hurt. She just looked at him as she finished her coffee, and by the end of it, he was still whining.

She put the cup on the nightstand on the side of the bed where was lying, as a result brought her chest almost completely into his face. Before he could get any ideas, she retreated back onto the bed and looked at him.

His eyes, not surprising to her, were closed in bliss. She smiled, and leaned over to kiss him, brushing some stray curls out of his face. Pulling away, she looked into his eyes.

"G'morning."

He smiled, little lines forming near his eyes, and she fell in love with him again, figuratively tripping over her feet. She knew every time she looked at him, she fell in love again and again.

"Morning," he whispered, and kissed the tip of her nose.

She really wouldn't mind if this was what the rest of her life would be like.

~...~

He stared at the screen of his phone. Every time he did, his stomach sank to the floor, but he couldn't look away, couldn't possibly ignore this, knowing that if he wouldn't look he would be thinking about it anyway.

Cho had noticed, he knew that. Well, he wasn't sure that he knew what was going on, but he had noticed something about him, too. Was he wearing this on his forehead? Probably.

He tried to get his mind off of his own life and thought of Lisbon and Jane at dinner the evening before. Something had been off about these two, and he hadn't really been able to put his finger on what it was that had triggered alarms from going off. Their bantering hadn't really helped with their case, and neither had her blush at his suggestive words.

Cho sighed.

"If there is anything you want to discuss, do it now or stop mulling so much."

Wylie startled and looked up at his roommate. The older man just stared at him, waiting for him to express his opinions and inner thoughts.

"Jane and Lisbon."

Cho apparently deemed that subject not worthy enough and dove back into his book.

"They're banging."

If Wylie had been drinking something, he would have spat everything out. He wanted to protest, but he realized that Cho was probably right.

"Have never seen her flirt like that. She wouldn't do that for just anybody." He briefly looked up from his book. "She's an adult. He's an adult. No need to beat around the bush. Therefore, definitely banging." He immediately looked back down to continue reading.

Wylie smiled faintly as he felt a brief surge of victory throughout his body. He had seen this coming, somehow, and was happy that this was finally happening, for her sake. She really did deserve someone to love her the way she loved the world. He knew she had been to hell and back in her past, so he hoped that Jane was nice to her and treated her like a lady, even though everybody knew she would kill you if she heard that world.

Now, he just needed to get his own life on track and the pair of them would actually be successful for once.

"Anything else?"

Wylie looked at his phone briefly, feeling his insides turn into knots again. Cho picked up on this, too, and once again put down his phone.

"It can't be that bad. Is it Michelle?"

Wylie nodded, and his insides completely tangled up, making him feel like he was going to throw up.

"Did she finally dump your ass?"

"No, worse."

"Worse?"

Wylie grabbed his phone, not being able to voice this, and threw it into Cho's general direction. The man frowned, picked up the phone and read what was on the screen. After a few seconds, he lowered it.

"Shit."

"Yeah." Wylie swallowed. "I can't do this, Cho. That's probably why she threw me out, because she knows I can't do this."

Cho got up and walked out of the cabin, the phone still in his hand, and Wylie was left confused, until after a few seconds he decided to jump up, too, trying to find out where Cho had gone to. He found the man walking into a cabin a little bit away, Jane and Lisbon's cabin.

"No, Cho, don't-"

But it was too late. Cho opened the door and Wylie ran after him, and neither were surprised to find the two on the bed, Lisbon leaning over Jane, her lips on his, his arms all around her- he didn't dare look further and turned around, closing the door and his eyes in the process.

Just because he wanted the two to be happy didn't mean that he had to get vivid details of their lovemaking. He heard clothes rustling, Jane's giggle and Lisbon groaning. He hoped to God they were getting dressed.

Then, silence. Wylie turned back around and opened his eyes.

Lisbon was merely standing in front of the bed, a blush on her cheeks but her arms were crossed in what looked like anger. Jane was standing at the other end of the bed, hands in his pockets and looking down, but it was obvious to Wylie that he was sporting a small smile. He recognized that smile - it was the one of a very lucky man after having shared the night with a beautiful woman.

"What?" Lisbon whispered, making a small jerking motion with her head, indicating they should start talking.  
Cho didn't, and instead walked towards her, showing her the phone and the message on it. He watched as the news sank in.

"Oh Jason…"

He didn't need her sympathy, he realized that when she looked back up at him. It wasn't his life that would change the most - it was hers. He had to get to Michelle, preferably half an hour ago, and regretted sharing the news with them before discussing it with her. He stepped forward, took back his phone and ran out of the cabin, and to his parked bike.

It didn't matter if it would take him literal hours to get to her. He would do that, and more.

His girlfriend, his Michelle, was pregnant. And even though it scared the living daylights out of him, he had to be with her.

It only took him five minutes to be out of breath, but thankfully a car stopped beside him and he heard Lisbon's soft voice. He stopped.

"Get in the car," she stated, and he coughed, shaking his head, something wet staining his cheeks. He hoped they weren't tears.  
"I need to get to Michelle."

"I'm taking you to Michelle."

He gave up and stepped down from his bike, lowering his head in defeat.

He was a pathetic excuse for a man, without a driver's license, or a steady income, a house, or the emotional ability to care for his girlfriend and their baby. But he knew he would try, oh how he would try, to convince her to stick with him.

"I'm sorry for ruining your morning."

She shook her head.

"You didn't." He looked at her, and he saw she was smiling, albeit faintly. He knew he needn't ask how her night had been, it was obvious on her face.

He wished he could see Michelle this happy.

~...~

Lead had filled his shoes the moment she turned into his street. He suddenly regretted every decision he had made that morning, and he realized that Abbott would scold him for leaving the camp without so much as a word.

Lisbon put her hand on his arm.

"Do you want me to wait here?"

He shook his head. He would need a lot of time to talk to his woman, and he didn't want to burden Lisbon with that. She deserved to spend more time with her love, even if he knew she would decide to keep it a secret.

"Thank you."

She smiled and remained put. He walked to the apartment, but unlike the previous times, he was not met by a tsunami of Spanish, and he wished he had been.

He opened the door to their apartment and went to look for her. Yet he couldn't find her, and he had looked in a lot of places. The last spot he checked was the bedroom, and there she was. His Michelle. She was sobbing, her head on the pillow. He sat down on the bed and put a hand on her arm. He wanted to do so much more but he was afraid he was forcing things between them.

She turned towards him, her eyes all puffy, and he couldn't keep himself from consoling her anymore.

He knew they were probably not okay, the last time they had seen each other they had been fighting, but oddly enough, he realized now why she had acted the way she had.

"Estamos embarazados, Jason," she cried into his shoulder. We are pregnant. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. He kissed the top of her head and kept his lips there, burying his nose in her hair, smelling her shampoo, so sweet, so her.

"I'm sorry. It was my responsibility to prevent this. I didn't."

And he let her cry in his arms, still giving her enough space to breathe or move away if she wanted.

"I know I haven't been the best boyfriend," he started when she had calmed down a little. He would seriously have to get used to these hormones. "But I will try to be a better man for you, Michelle. And… it scares me. This scares me. But I will be the best father I can be for our child. It might not be enough, might never be enough. But I'm staying. Even if you decide that you want to raise our child alone, or if you want to give it up for adoption, or any other decision that you could make - I will be there to support you. I promise, Michelle. I'm so sorry I did this to you. I will fight the rest of my life so that you can get yours back."

And she cried in his arms, and his heart broke - his tough little cookie, worn down to a crying mess because he hadn't taken responsibility, not enough to prevent this pregnancy.

He didn't want a baby, they were still so young, but he wanted to be with her. If that meant that their baby was part of the package, he would take it. With both hands.

"Te amo," he whispered near her ear, and she all but leapt up and kissed his cheek, tears still rolling down hers.

"I love you, too."

"Michelle?"

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

She looked up.

"Don't do this just because I'm pregnant."

He shook his head. "I wanted to do it before but I chickened out." He sighed. "I'm going to take responsibility, Michelle. I will find a house for us that we can live in, and I will find extra jobs if I have to so I can afford it. I will do right by you this time. I promise."

Their eyes met when he looked down again. She seemed to read his soul, probably determining whether he meant what he said. Her hand slipped around his waist and she snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

She didn't explain what she meant, but just kept her arms around him, tears now wetting his shirt.

He was such an idiot for getting her pregnant. But that was in the past, he couldn't change that anymore. All he could do now was focus on their future.

~...~

Lisbon felt bad for driving away after she had dropped Wylie off at the apartment. She knew, however, that these two would eventually be alright, even if it would take a while. They really adored each other.

She thought back to her night with Patrick Jane. She knew he was insecure about his abilities, but she couldn't deny that she had never known sex like this - with every sigh and every kiss she had fallen more for him, until she was left begging for more. It was without lying the best sex she'd had so far, and would ever have. It was more than sex, she knew, they had a connection. It was them making love.

They hadn't used protection, though. She was on the pill but she didn't want herself to be forced into what Michelle and Wylie had been forced into. Not yet anyway.

She decided to stop at a pharmacy close by and picked up a morning-after pill. She had only just discovered his love, she didn't want to lose him.

* * *

 **A/N: So, there you go! I hope I can keep Vega sort of IC, but she's a tough one to master. I find I have a lot of trouble keeping any of the 'new' characters IC, seeing as I was trained to write Van Pelt and Rigsby, and now have Wylie, Vega and Abbott to learn properly. I hope you will cut me some slack! Thanks for reading and see you next week!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Alright! So I finished this story! Not that you will see that ending soon, but I now know that this story will have 22 chapters in total, and I think, because you all were so nice to me during the previous 13 chapters, I will post one chapter each day, if you want that. That way, you can read it every day for the next week. Think of it as my personal gift to you, and also a way to end this summer break, as I think that might be coming for a lot of you.**

 **Anyway, without further ado, enjoy this chapter! Also, if you hadn't noticed, I don't really proofread much, so sometimes I might have some grammatical errors here and there. Sorry for that!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 ** _'Dismissed'_**

 ** _Chapter 14_**

"Mr. Wylie has unfortunately left the camp for personal reasons, so I will be taking over his group until the end of the week." Most of the students who had been in that specific group made it known that they didn't agree with it, but they didn't really have another choice.

"You can call me Jane if Patrick in public is too soon," he whispered close to her ear, but not as close as last night. She looked at him briefly, then nodded. He understood her desire to keep their relationship, or whatever it was that they were building, secret for now, even if Cho and Wylie already knew. Cho wouldn't say anything, as he preferred to be left out of any drama whatsoever, and Wylie was currently too busy with his own love life to go around talking about hers.

She focused on the tasks of the day, which were some more trust exercises and another walk but then in another area. She knew it was bad, but she looked forward to being alone with Jane some more.

The smiles on the student's faces as they had fun together made everything disappear, however. She thought of why she started working for the school in the first place - to make the younger generation feel good and confident about themselves while also knowing they could kick some serious ass when it came to their intelligence. To be one of the stepping stones they could use to get ahead had always filled her with joy, and she knew it would continue to do so until the day she decided to retire.

~...~

They ended the day by watching a movie in the common hall. Most of the teachers had had the option to bring up a movie, and the students would vote for the one they wanted to see. Of all the movies that were proposed, it was Lisbon's _Pride and Prejudice_ that was voted as the crowd's popular choice. She hoped it was so that they could understand her lessons better, but she knew it was likely because it was the least boring one - Cho's pick of _The Good, The Bad and The Ugly_ might have attracted his fellow teachers, it was not interesting (and recent) enough for their students, and Jane's pick of _Santa Claus Conquers The Martians_ was honestly just a poor attempt of making any of the other films win. Only one of the students had chosen Jane's pick, and it had been one of the popular jocks as a way to mock him.

Jane merely shrugged and sat down on one of the chairs in the faraway corner of the hall.

More than half of their students was female - of course Jane Austen was destined to win. The movie, however, didn't do the book justice and she knew it, but anything was better than whatever other movie her coworkers could have come forward with.

It was a nice movie, but then again she had seen it already. Something about the independency of Elizabeth Bennet and the morals she set for herself and the world and never strayed from, made this story perfect for Lisbon's younger audience. More particularly, her female students; never let anyone tell you that you're not worthy of love or an education just because you're a woman.

She knew that was not the main theme in the book, but she also knew that the students would never remember what the actual themes were. If they would finish reading the book and would remember that Elizabeth stood up for herself and her family in a time where none of that was acceptable for a woman, and would realize that they could, too, if they wanted to, that would be the most important thing to Lisbon.

Although the movie focused more on the love story that Hollywood wanted to see than any of the important themes in the book, which had always been a huge annoyance to her.

As the credits rolled in, some students sighed a breath of relief that it was finally done. Most students, however, were obviously touched. Her group in particular was very moved and they couldn't help themselves from walking to her as everybody else was leaving.

"Ms. Lisbon, I have to admit: I didn't read the book, but after watching this movie I think I will."

Lisbon smiled. She wasn't surprised. By now she recognized all the Pride and Prejudice reports taken from the internet.

"Well I'm happy to hear that, ladies."

She noticed Jane looking at her and then leaving the common hall.

"It's weird but I never realized Mr. Jane's last name is also a first name," Alice stated, and the other girls agreed, in a particularly loud fashion. It made Lisbon laugh a little.

"Ladies, I bid you goodnight."

The girls nodded and Lisbon quickly crossed eyes with Shelby - it seemed the girl was alright under the circumstances. She gave the girl an encouraging tap on her arm as the group left the room.

Once again, most teachers had bailed from cleaning the common hall, which was even dirtier now that they had spent pretty much all night there. Only Mr. Abbott, Cho and herself stayed to clean up the mess, and she wished she wouldn't have been raised so well so that she didn't force herself to do these things. She was tired and just wanted to go to bed - then she realized she would probably not get a lot of sleep this night, either. It sure brought a small blush to her cheeks.

"I hope that blush is there for a good reason," Mr. Abbott interrupted her thoughts, and she realized she had been holding onto the same cup for about a minute, not doing anything else.

Cho stopped his movements but didn't look at her.

She had to think of something to say _now_ if she wanted to keep her newfound love secret for a little longer.

"I was just thinking about the movie, is all."

Mr. Abbott huffed and continued cleaning.

"Right."

She was such a bad liar.

~...~

She returned to the cabin and instantly noticed that the curtains were already drawn, but there wasn't any light showing through them.

The son of a bitch. Had he gone to bed without telling her? She was determined to show him how wrong that was, but stopped that thought immediately. Maybe they had gone too fast last night and he needed some more time? After all, it had been a while for him, for her, too. Perhaps all he needed was just some space. If he needed some, she would grant him that.

She opened the door, ready to tell him what she had just decided, when she found him on the bed, sitting upright, leaning against the headboard. He was only wearing his pajamas, and in his hand was a cup.

She frowned and looked around. There were some tea lights casting a soft, warm light through the room, only illuminating what was really significant, at least to her.

"What is this?" she asked, only softly laughing. He smiled as their eyes crossed, and made an inviting movement with his hand to join him on the bed. When she came closer, he reached out to one of the nightstands and got another cup.

She quickly shed her thin jacket and her shoes and socks, sitting down beside him and taking the cup. It was tea, and it smelled surprisingly good. Which was a true surprise, because she didn't like tea. Something told her that he would make her love it, no matter the cost.

"I know you don't like tea, but I didn't want to give you too much caffeine tonight because I want you to sleep properly." She wanted to say something about him wearing her down but swallowed it. He was being sincere, and probably had something important planned.

He scooted backwards and motioned with his head to follow him. She rested her back against him, and he rested his free arm on her hip. They sipped their tea in silent content, and it felt to her as if they had never done anything else but this, even though they had only just declared their love.

Declaring it, however, had cleared up some air, and it left no space for misconceptions. He loved her. She loved him. There was only a sea left of opportunities, for them, together. She couldn't wait what would come of this.

"Teresa?" he said, breaking her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I don't know you well enough."

She looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't know that Pride and Prejudice was your favorite book."

She smiled. "It's not."

Now he seemed intrigued. She smiled even more.

"I just like the underlying, well, feminism, I guess, that causes me to teach it every year, if I can. Its message is very important."

He chuckled. "You're the first person I meet who reads Pride and Prejudice in a feministic light."

She shrugged. She took another sip of her tea.

"So what _is_ your favorite book?"

She sighed. He was so going to judge her.

"Charlotte's Web."

She got a smile on her face as she waited for his teasing answer, but it never came. She looked up. He didn't look particularly sad, but he didn't look happy either.

That's when she remembered that his daughter had been called Charlotte, and her insides constricted. She shouldn't have done that, even though it were under no mean intentions.

She stretched out to put her cup on the nightstand, and he immediately protested.

"It's okay. Sorry."

She didn't want to hear any of it, however, and sat down properly so she could look him in the eye properly.

"Hey." She nudged his arm, gently. "I'm sorry I brought up her name."

He shook his head. He took a strand of her hair in between his fingers and looked as it slipped through them.

"It is about time."

"About time for what?"

He shifted so he could sit upright comfortably, and looked into her eyes when he continued speaking.

"My wife, Angela, she was very beautiful. She was my first real love. I remember meeting her and knowing that she was different from all these other girls I had met. I know it sounds cliché, but every time I saw her I was more and more certain that she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Mind you, we had both grown up at the carnival and they did not like us fooling around, so I promised her a comfortable life, away from our friends and family. When she agreed, I couldn't be happier. We were only eighteen when we got married, but it felt so right."

He paused and took a hold of one of her hands. He admired her fingers while he continued talking.

"We had a little girl. Charlotte." He swallowed. "My life changed forever when she was born. The light of my life, so beautiful, she could enchant me with a single smile or giggle. I was wrapped around her little finger."

He paused again.

"I didn't have any money to take care of them, so I continued with my psychic gig that I had learned at the carnival." She raised her eyebrows, and it made him smile a little. "It was all fake, believe me, but it earned me a lot of money, money that I needed, so I continued. I got greedy on the way, and even though Angela had told me countless of times that she wanted me to stop, I never stopped." He looked away. "I was a guest on a TV show one night, and they had me talking about this serial killer, Red John. I had read up on his crimes, and found them horrid, so I told them my opinion. That night, when I came home…"

His head dropped, and so did his grip on her hand. She reached out and brushed his cheek, hoping it would let him know well enough that she was there with him, and for him.

"I've never been the same man ever since. Not even now, when I sit here with you, I am nothing of the man I was back then. And maybe that is a good thing, and maybe it is not. My chase for revenge has changed me, I know that. I can never go back, even if I wanted to, and God, I wish I could. In the first place so I can do right by Angela and not screw over the chance she had given me. But also so I could do right by you, and start off this, what we have now, in a better way."

He paused once again, looking down at his hands first, but then up at her. He leant in real quick and put a small flicker of a kiss on her lips.

"But I sure do like where we are now, and where this is going."

She smiled at him, but his words stuck with her. She didn't know where to begin with responding. She knew, however, that she had to start somewhere.

"My mother is still the only female role model I've ever had. Even though she worked so hard, she always somehow managed to be at all of our hobbies, supporting us. My brothers with their football obsession, and me while I was rehearsing for recitals. It always looked like she was in three places at once. And she never once lost her smile, not even when it was obvious that the world was crashing down on her, but she had to stay upright, for us." She looked him in the eye. "The day I lost her was the day I lost most of my soul. I spent forever trying to find back the pieces."

He reached out and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms all around her.

"You might have been alone for a long time, but I will be here from this moment for however long you want me to be here," he whispered in her ear.

"The same applies to you," she replied.

They sat like that for a while, just reveling in each other's warmth, when she felt his head move.

"Your favorite book was Charlotte's Web?" he whispered, his voice laced with amusement. She smiled now, and shrugged.

"My mother read it to me. In my defense, it is a very good book."

He chuckled and the sound warmed her heart. She looked up at him to see him smile, and she was not disappointed.

"Tell me more about you, just Lisbon. I'm intrigued by you."

And she did. She told him about her brothers and where they were now, how she might disapprove of their choices in life but still loved them, and was proud of them; about how she dropped out of the police academy because she couldn't afford the risk the job brought with, considering her brothers depended on her; about how she managed to get into education.

"I needed to work three jobs and still get a loan from a faraway aunt to pay for my studies. But being a teacher is far less risky than being a cop." Even though, and she knew it, that was the kind of job she had always wanted, and still did. Yet she believed herself to be far too old to be a cop, and far too comfortable with being a teacher.

"What made you stop? Such an ambitious woman like yourself would not stop for just anything."

She nodded and sighed. If they were on the honesty train, she better ride it out until the final station.

"I was in my first year and was interning for my local police department. We were chasing down a suspect and I got turned around in the warehouse he had escaped to. Found me and held me hostage for hours." She took in a deep breath and let it out as a deep sigh. "Looking back at it now, it sounds very stupid, but I had three younger brothers to take care off. That moment made me realize that I was not invincible as I always thought I was." She cracked a smile. "At least in education, you get regular coffee breaks."

He laughed, and she pulled his arms even closer around her. Feeling him laugh against her back, the small vibrations of his chest, made her insides tingle.

"Teresa?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

She smiled and nodded. "Of course. Anything."

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Whatever question she was expecting, it certainly was not this one. She frowned but still chuckled a bit at his silliness. She realized however when she looked up at him that he wasn't joking.

"I have never asked you formally. It really has been a while for me."

She figured. She turned around and faced him. She hadn't heard anyone asking her to be their girlfriend since lower school.

"Of course I will be your girlfriend, Patrick."

Her answer brought a smile to his face. She reached out to touch his face, to know how it felt when he was smiling. He quickly stopped what he was doing and focused on her movements.

"Patrick," she started, "I love you."

He put his hand in the back of her neck.

"And I love, I love… I love you."

She kissed him, running her hands through his marvelous curls. One of his hands was still in her neck, while the other caressed her side.

She pulled away after a few seconds, their faces inches apart.

"Please come with me to my place after the camp. Partly because I want to be able to kiss you all over, but mostly because I never want to be away from you again."

He nodded, a small smile on his lips and his cheeks red with love. "Okay."

Staying true to his words at the beginning of their lengthy conversation, they did just sleep, but not without having kissed the other until they were breathless and cuddling until they couldn't get any closer.

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 **A/N: So let me know! Also if you want to have one chapter each day for the next week!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the nice words! They really mean a lot to me! Therefore, I will post one chapter each day, like I had promised.**

 **This chapter will mean the end of the school camp, happy to have them out of that dusty area** **😂. Anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 15**_

She woke up feeling instantly happy, knowing exactly that for once in her life, she was truly loved. Even when she didn't find Jane next to her, she didn't panic. He was close, somewhere, she knew.

She turned around and spotted something on the nightstand. She frowned and picked up the unknown item. When her sleepy eyes had woken up, she noticed it was a little toy pony.

Underneath it was a letter and she picked it up, instantly reading to see if there was an explanation behind the little toy.

" _Good morning, my love,_

 _I had promised you a surprise and this is it. I know you wanted the real deal but that was practically impossible on such short notice._

 _I also brought you your coffee. I hope it is still as good without me to witness you drinking it._

 _See you in a while - I can't wait._

 _Patrick"_

To make the letter complete, there was even a small heart drawn next to his name. She smiled for he was so sweet, she wouldn't survive with him, nor without him.

~...~

The end of the camp had arrived, and everybody had met up at the gate of the park with all of their personal belongings. Cho and Lisbon had volunteered to check if the cabins were left properly and not a complete mess. She hoped not so she could go home soon, not just to be with Jane but also so she could sleep in her own bed - no bed was better than her own.

Some of the cabins turned out to be warzones and she called the students responsible for the mess over, making them clean it up while the other students got to lounge in the sun.

She had talked with Abbott to arrange the setting up of a foster family for Shelby Ford, and he promised her that it would be the first thing he did when they got back. She really hoped that everything would turn out alright for the girl. She didn't deserve something like this.

Cho pulled her aside when they checked the teacher's cabins. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to deliver a lecture so grand she would wish she hadn't been born.

"I thought you hated him."

She didn't need to ask who he meant.

"I did. Well, I thought I did." She sighed. "I made a mistake in judging him. I think we all did."

He stared at her for a few seconds.

"He really can be nice when he tries to."

"You love him."

She was caught off guard by his direct approach, but he was speaking the truth.

"Yes. I do."

He nodded. As always, he didn't show a lot of feelings on his face, but she knew how to read him. The corners of his mouth gave him away - they were facing up.

"Don't do anything rash."

And then he leaned in to give her a hug, one of their only hugs, considering neither of them were very open to physical contact. The fact that he was willing to break that, even if it was just for now, touched her.

"Thank you, Kimball."

He pulled away and looked her in the eye.

"I hope he makes you happy."

She thought of her time with Jane so far, of their kisses and their lovemaking and their cuddling, and her heart blossomed. He did make her happy, like no one else had been able to. In just two days time, she had not only realized that she was in love with him, but also realized that she loved him, period. This was not what she had expected beforehand but she wasn't going to complain.

She looked at Cho again. Now, he was fully smiling, probably realizing that she was going to be okay. At least one of them would be.

"I really hope you can find something like this, too."

He nodded but also shrugged.

"It's okay."

She really meant it. He deserved a love like hers, too. He was her best friend, she wanted that for him.

~...~

Alice's parents came to pick her up, also taking her bike with them. They thanked them a thousand times for the good care of their daughter. Alice, in her turn, thanked Lisbon for _her_ great care, and Lisbon merely wished the girl a nice weekend and told her to rest a little to allow her injury to heal.

Lisbon was a teacher, but sometimes she acted as surrogate mother, and she would never be able to give up that title. She would never be able to see one of her students needing help and not do anything.

Waving to her friends and classmates one more time, she got into the car and they drove away.

Lisbon and Abbott joined the others and commenced their journey back to school. Jane had waved at her but he had stayed with his group, probably giving her some space. It only made her want to be beside him more. Then again, the previous time they had talked and driven their bikes, one of their students had ended up with a cast.

It was obvious that the students were tired - after all, there had been a curfew but they hadn't forced the students to sleep as long as they stayed inside their cabins.

She was tired too. Perhaps it was the fact that she was outside almost all day long, which was something she wasn't used to. Yet she knew it wasn't that. She would chalk it up to that, however, should someone ask.

She thought of Wylie, even if briefly. She hoped that he and Michelle were alright now, even though alright was probably not the correct word to use in this situation. They were expecting a baby, an unplanned one at that. She knew if they would ask for some advice or financial aid, she would wholeheartedly say yes. She didn't have a baby herself but most of her friends from High School had had one, so she wasn't new in the baby scene.

The girls were caught up in their usual conversational topics, but this time she heard the word 'boyfriend' a lot and after the umpteenth usage of the word, she paid attention to the conversation.

"Shelby, tell 'em what you did with Dwayne during the movie."

Shelby shook her head furiously, most likely getting red as a tomato if Lisbon knew the girl. The girls laughed loudly and some of them cheered.

"You totes made out with him!"

"Did not!"

"Did too! Girl, you can't say that my eyes have lied to me, I saw it with my own two eyes!" Peyton exclaimed, even snapping her fingers. Shelby shook her head.

"It was nothing."

"Kissing a guy is _not_ nothing! OMG!" Peyton sighed incredulously. She looked around to see if there was anyone present who would agree with her. Why she chose Lisbon of all people was a mystery to her.

"Ms. Lisbon, tell her!"

Lisbon sighed silently but kept her smile. She was too old for these teenage girls' dilemmas.

"It depends."

"On what?"

"On what you do afterwards. A kiss can be just a kiss, but if you end up talking afterwards, or kiss again, it might be proof that there is more."

"See!"

It took them about five minutes to get it out of Shelby that she might have a thing for Dwayne. Lisbon knew Jane would have gotten out the words thirty seconds in.

Jane. He had matched the girls with his boys. From what she had picked up, some of those choices had been really good ones.

She had to thank him later for giving these girls a bit of teenage romance. After the strain they had been under to pass their exams, they deserved it.

~...~

Abbott insisted on waiting until all the students had been picked up from school to leave himself. Lisbon wanted to stay and help but he also insisted she go home and rest, enjoy the weekend. Jane stayed with Abbott, and she felt it had been him who had convinced their director that she could go home.

She thanked Abbott for the eventful week and walked to her car. She secured her bike in the back like she had been instructed to do by her nice neighbor. Once inside her car, she let out a sigh. She was tired, exhausted even. She would have to suck it up and drive home, then she would have all weekend to not do anything.

She realized she had to see Jane, but knew he wouldn't come with her like this. They had made an agreement to keep their relationship secret for a little longer, so she knew leaving in one car would be a dead giveaway.

She decided to text him her address. If he was ready to come to her, he would be able to do so on his own accord.

When she arrived home, she decided to take a quick shower and then stood in her bedroom deciding on what she would wear. If he would come to her, and he had said that he would, she would want to look nice. Maybe a pretty dress? Or her red one, which she had bought but never worn, claiming to save it for a special occasion. Well, any day with Patrick Jane would be a special one, so she would have to wear it every day.

Perhaps she should just stick to something comfortable. She knew, or rather hoped, they wouldn't be doing much talking with their clothes on, so whatever she was wearing would be off fairly soon. Her eyes landed on her small sexy lingerie collection consisting of only two pairs. Well. There wasn't much of her he hadn't seen yet.

~...~

Jane was giddy when he left the school grounds. He had struggled to say goodbye to Teresa earlier that afternoon, but he felt it best to keep them secret for a little longer. It had been a mutual decision. Now, all the leftover formalities of the camp were over, and Abbott had sent him home. He could finally go to his Teresa.

He got out his phone and was about to call her to ask for her address, when he saw she had sent him a text. They sure thought alike.

He knew where it was, though how he did not know. He hopped on his bike and drove to her house, only taking about fifteen minutes, and it was a nice trip, were it not that he wasn't fully paying attention. He couldn't wait to see her again.

He knocked on her door and waited until she opened it, and he almost bounced out of giddiness, wanted to break the door and get to her. When she answered the door, his breath was quickly sucked out of his lungs, desire rushing to every pore in his body.

She was wearing the sexiest lingerie he had ever seen in his life - and she filled it well. To top it all off, there was a distinct blush on her cheeks, and he hoped it was from anticipation.

He dropped everything he was holding and shut the door behind him, only barely making sure all of his items were inside. She giggled at his reaction, but soon swallowed them when he pushed her against the nearest wall and kissed her with reckless abandon, ravishing her. He had planned to be a gentleman, but he couldn't do it anymore. Not now. There was plenty of time for that in the future.

* * *

 **A/N: Was building up for an M-rated scene, then realized that this is a T-rated story, so I kept it where it is right now. The rest is all left for your own imagination to fill in. Leave me a REVIEW, it's highly appreciated!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I was disappointed not to hear anything from you, but I suppose you have the right to read the story in silent bliss!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 ** _'Dismissed'_**

 ** _Chapter 16_**

 _One month later_

As she stepped into the teacher's lounge and noticed her standard table already complete, she realized for the first time since the beginning of her romance with her blonde haired idiot, that she hadn't made her own coffee in weeks. He had always had it prepared for her, and it always tasted better when he was around.

She approached their table and took in the states of her friends - Cho was reading a book, as always, Wylie was resting his head on the table, and Jane was pretending he wasn't affected by her walking into the room.

"Is he asleep?" she asked, sitting down next to Jane. He nodded.

"Ever since we sat down. He was out like a light."

She took her cup of coffee from him.

"Don't you think it looks weird that you bring me coffee _every_ break?"

He looked at her and shook his head.

"I'm just bringing my most cherished coworker her mandatory cup of coffee. Nothing weird about that."

"Then how come you never bring Cho or Wylie coffee?"

Cho snickered, if just for a split second, and it made Wylie jump up.

"I wasn't sleeping!"

Lisbon laughed but felt bad for her young friend. He had explained to her when they had seen each other again that he would take on more jobs to finance him and Michelle's baby, and now he was juggling three jobs and hardly got any sleep. She wished he would take a day off to rest.

He reached out for his coffee, which was likely cold by now.

"It's worth it."

She wasn't so sure of that, but the outcome would likely be better than it was now. He was working so hard for a good cause, and at the end of it, Michelle would have a baby. Lisbon hoped that, despite them being so young, their relationship would last, for the baby's sake.

"How's Michelle?"

"Bit hormonal, but I now know the reason. I found a house, you know, for us to live in." He took a sip of his coffee and his face contorted in the most hilarious way. Lisbon almost lost her own coffee. "Anyway, if you guys wanna help with the painting or something, you're always welcome."

Lisbon nodded. "I would love to. Just name a time and date and I'll be there."

They continued their break with a bit of small talk, and then parted as the break was done. For some reason, out of nowhere, she couldn't help but get a sinking feeling in her stomach, like something bad was going to happen. With her permanent state of mind being happiness this past month, it was not a welcome change.

~...~

He was teaching one of Teresa's favorite groups when Abbott came into the classroom. His face showed that there was nothing good on the horizon, and the entire group went silent.

"Mr. Jane. I need to speak with you."

Jane nodded, but he couldn't help but feel fear as he exited the room. Had something happened to Teresa? He hoped it was anything but that.

They entered the hallway, and it was deadly silent there.

"Just cut to the chase, Dennis."

"One of the parents have found out about your past. They refuse to let their students be taught by…" Abbott swallowed the word.

Jane was only frozen to the ground, and no words could come out of his mouth, everything shut down.

"Okay."

His mind immediately went to Teresa. If Abbott would let him off now, would she still be willing to be with him? Then again, she knew what he had done and had decided to love him anyway. But would she still accept him around?

"I have to sent you on an unpaid suspension until further notice."

"Okay."

"You may finish today's classes but I don't want to see you tomorrow."

Abbott turned to leave but Jane stopped him when he spoke.

"Was it Shelby Ford's parents?"

The other man didn't turn around.

"I can't give you that information."

"It was though, wasn't it?"

Abbott sighed.

"Patrick, don't."

"Please, do me a favor and get Shelby Ford out of that family as soon as possible. If they react to their possible abuse story by making someone else pay for it, then-"

Now Abbott turned around, and when he stepped so close that they almost touched, Jane felt almost threatened.

"They are right though! You did kill a man! Nothing you say or do will change that fact!" He made the fact very clear to Jane without raising his voice so that nobody could listen in on their conversation.

"Is that all you think of me? A murderer? After all I've done for you?"

Abbott didn't answer that query. Jane shook his head.

"Get her out of there. If you won't do it for me, do it for Teresa."

"I'm working on it."

Jane nodded. He was the one to turn around now, but all he wanted was more time to scold his director.

"You should be happy I'm not firing you on the spot."

"Well, why don't you? You knew about my past when you hired me. Why did you hire me?"

Abbott didn't have a response to that.

"Don't let me see you tomorrow, Jane."

"You won't."

When he stepped back into the classroom, most students were intrigued. Had they heard the conversation? They couldn't have.

He thought that he could trust Dennis Abbott, but it turns out that he was exactly like the others.

~...~

He thought about lying to Teresa about his suspension, but he couldn't do that. She deserved to know the truth, but he couldn't give her that yet. He wanted a solution that he could present to her so she wouldn't regret being with him.

They met up at the school gates at the end of the day. He wanted to kiss her but he didn't, thinking about their pact. This was not the right time to go public.

"Will you come home with me?" she asked him, more out of habit than anything else. He always said yes.

"There is something I need to tell you."

She froze. That was not the standard reply and he knew it. He was getting nervous now. Everything around her was both easier and harder - easier because he knew ultimately that she loved him, but harder because he didn't want to disappoint her. They had come so far.

"Can it wait until we get home?"

As always when he was with her, he found his mind was numb with love, and he would agree to anything she said. If she would want him to drink a gallon of milk in one minute, he would do it for her in a heartbeat. He would even smile, as he always did in her proximity.

"Yes." She nodded and moved to walk away. "It is important, though."

"Of course. But we will have some more privacy there."

You could always depend on Teresa Lisbon to keep a secret.

He got into the car on the passenger's side. If anyone asked them why they would leave in just one car, she would tell them that she would merely drop him off at home, and no questions would be asked.

~...~

They stepped into the cozy apartment and he closed the door behind them. He took her thin jacket and hung it over its usual chair. He loved being her gentleman.

"Well, tell me." She brought it with a smile but he knew she wanted to know what was up. He had thought of a couple of lies on their way to the apartment, but as he looked into those big green eyes, he couldn't possibly bring himself to lie.

"Abbott suspended me."

"He did _what_?! Why?!" Her confusion was written all over her face.

"Because some parents found out about my past."

All confusion was gone. She lowered her head.

"Oh."

He felt a bout of disappointment from her side coming up, but it never came.

"Which parents?"

"I don't know." That was the only lie she needed to hear, honestly. If she knew it was Shelby Ford's parents she would worry, like he did, and she would probably do something she would regret.

There was already one of them who had done things that were unheard of. He didn't need it to be both of them.

"Now what?"

"Suspension until further notice."

She crossed her arms.

"Will you be okay?"

She was amazing. This beautiful, passionate, petite woman was amazing. He realized that every single minute of every single day.

"Will _you_ be okay?"

She rolled her eyes but it was obvious she hadn't gotten the answer she wanted.

"I will be okay, Teresa. The job isn't the most important thing."

"What is?"

"You. Obviously."

She stepped towards him and snuck her arms around his torso, holding him close.

"I will make it right, Teresa. They knew about my past and they decided to hire me anyway. They cannot just send me away because they are afraid of a lawsuit or something."

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

He nodded. "I'll try not to."

He wrapped his arms around her torso and lifted her, just enough so he could maneuver her around the place.

They were staying in her apartment, and she had gotten him keys, but he had never needed them because they always arrived together. Of course, it was not the kind of life he wanted her to have, she deserved a cozy house with the white picket fence and the family dog, but he supposed that was a little too early still. After all, he hadn't fully moved in with her yet, had merely decided that her apartment was his default place to go to.

"I hope it's not Shelby's parents."

He fought the urge to stop dead in his tracks. Perhaps she had learned more from him than he had expected, and was almost impressed with her was it not for the fact that she wasn't supposed to know whose parents were doing this.

"Me too."

He distracted her by kissing her neck, which always worked. He had to find a solution to this whole problem and fast.

"Teresa," he whispered as he carried her up the stairs, "I'm going to take you to bed now, and I'm going to make love with you."

She kissed his cheek and he felt an obvious smile on her lips, making his heart skip a beat. He put a hand on her bottom to pull her flush against him.

"Alright. I will stop talking about our students."

He nodded and lowered her onto the bed, following her instantly, kissing her lips.

For now, he had other things to think about. Kissing her naked stomach, for instance. Or feeling her rub her body against his in her throes of passion.

No matter what would go on in his life, he would never get enough of her.

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 **A/N: Make sure to drop me a line!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Alright, so dearies, here's where things get more serious. I wanted to stretch it out a bit more, but I couldn't, really. I couldn't wait to get to what would be _after_ this part of the story, so there you go.**

 **Also: SEPTEMBER 1ST, 1989: DEAR DIARY. Like dis if u cri evrytim.**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 17**_

It felt weird to go to work by herself, she hadn't done so in weeks, but she knew she couldn't change anything about it.

She arrived at the school feeling bare without him beside her, but she scorned herself. Come on, Teresa Lisbon, you survived long enough without him, surely you can survive another school day now.

She met an exhausted Wylie on her way to the school's entrance, but he didn't look solemn or discontent with his current position. Despite the lack of sleep, managing three jobs at once seemed to do him well.

"How do you still have energy to do things?" she asked him, opening the door for him. She was impressed by him, because she had done the same thing as him when she was about his age. Yet she hadn't had the motivation to do anything when she would come home, even though she still had to clean, cook, bring her brothers to bed, and everything else that came with managing a household.

"Michelle helps around the house." She was reminded of the fact that she had been alone in that endeavour, and he was in fact, not. "I never meant to force her into traditional roles, but it's only temporary. I hope she knows that."

"I'm sure she does. You should make it clear to her, though. If you don't speak your mind, she might never know what you're thinking of."

He opened the door for her and nodded, a smile on his face.

"You know, I can't wait to see her each day."

She knew exactly what he was talking about - if she didn't see Jane at work all day, her need to see him would build until she would merely jump him without saying anything as they came home.

He smiled at her. "We're surprisingly doing alright, aren't we, Teresa?"

She couldn't help but smile at him. He was going to marry his sweetheart, and they were going to have a baby together in a few months; she was slowly easing into a comfortable relationship with her sweetheart, still head over heels in love with him.

"Yep."

"How are things with Jane?"

"They're good." She was not going to say that he was suspended. "He's ill now, but it's really good."

"I'm glad. You deserve it, Teresa."

They continued their way to the teacher's lounge talking a little more about their loves, and parted when they walked to their own classrooms.

She still had a small smile on her lips when she arrived there, but it faltered when she noticed Shelby Ford was leaning against the door, her head low and her clothes way too big for her tiny frame.

Had she looked like this all the time? Lisbon hadn't noticed. She had been so busy screwing Jane that she hadn't noticed that her students weren't doing well.

She wrapped an arm around the girl, unlocked the door and ushered her inside. She threw her bag on the floor in the corner of the room and made the girl sit down on the nearest chair.

"What's wrong, Shelby?"

She started crying as soon as Lisbon spoke, and Lisbon instantly moved her chair closer so she could wrap her arms around Shelby.

"I'm sorry, Shelby. I didn't do enough for you."

Just like weeks before, the girl's dark hair fell in front of her face, but now Lisbon felt she had enough courage to console the girl. She didn't care about regulations anymore.

She saw herself in this beautiful young woman - she had been in a similar position when she was her age, and she wanted to help her so badly. She would do whatever she could to spare Shelby Ford adulthood like she had experienced herself.

"Shelby, is your mother home?"

Shelby shook her head.

"And your father?"

A nod followed.

"I need his phone number, okay?"

She handed Lisbon her phone, and Lisbon looked for the necessary phone number so she could dial it in her own phone. She was shaking a little, she had never done something like this, but she owed the girl. She should have been there for her, and she wasn't.

"Maurice Ford," she heard at the other end, and reached out to hold Shelby's hand.

She knew Abbott would probably add her suspension, too, but he'd had enough time to arrange something for this girl, but she was getting worse and worse. It just showed her that he hadn't done a whole lot.

"Yes, hello, you are speaking with Teresa Lisbon, one of your daughter's teachers."

There was silence at the other end. Shelby had stopped crying by now, curious to see what her teacher would do. Honestly, Lisbon didn't know either.

"I know who you are. I… I want to thank you for supporting Shelby."

"Mr. Ford, how are you?"

"I could be better."

They were both silent, and Lisbon took her time looking at the girl sitting in front of her. There were clear bags under her eyes. It was harder to spot on her dark skin, but Lisbon could see bruises in her neck. She couldn't accept this.

She could hear the pain Mr. Ford was suffering in his voice, felt it as her own.

"Look, Ms. Lisbon, I know this is an impossible thing to ask of you, but… I don't want my daughter to come home this afternoon. She is not safe here."

Lisbon's suspicions were confirmed when he uttered those words.

"I was afraid of that."

"Will you please give her a place to stay?" Suddenly, he started talking faster and faster, and she wished she could dive through the phone and pull him away from the approaching pain. "She's my little princess and she deserves everything that I can't give her. Don't let her come back here, please, if you won't do it for me, do it for your own maternal feelings. I know you care, too!"

She heard a loud slap and a groan, and she sat straight in her chair.

"Who are you talking to?!"

He gave no reply and again, a slap followed.

"Please help her," he whispered into the phone.

Another slap. Suddenly, she got an idea.

"Let her continue as long as possible. I'm sending help."

She got no reply but hoped that he had heard her plea. She ended the conversation and quickly lowered the phone and took in deep breaths. She was taken back about thirty years or so, when she had been afraid to talk to people about the very real thing that was happening to Mr. Ford at that very moment. She remembered every slap to her face, every slur that came out of her father's mouth, condemning her and her brothers. She remembered every bruise she had to hide, all the while smiling and pretending that they were alright.

She hoped she had not decided on Mr. Ford's death by calling him, and hoped he was strong enough to survive until help was coming. She felt he had wanted to do what he had just done for a long time, but had never had the courage to do until then.

She got up and made Shelby stand up, too. The girl was obviously shocked by Lisbon's reaction but cooperated, wanting her father to be okay, too.

"I'm calling the police," she said, and dialed 9-1-1, as she stormed out of the classroom, Shelby close by, tears once again in her eyes.

She barged into Abbott's office and he jumped up at the sudden intrusion.

"Dennis, this girl is not going to go home this afternoon, but you are going to talk with Child Services until you have found a replacement home for her. I will take her in myself if I have to."

He was confused but she didn't have more time to explain. She motioned for Shelby to step towards Abbott, who, albeit in a confused manner, opened his arms for the girl.

She explained the situation to the dispatcher, telling him it was an emergency, and with the help of Shelby managed to send them to the right address.

She hung up the phone and only then realized she was heavily out of breath, leaning on the nearest backrest, taking in deep breaths.

"Teresa, I want an explanation right this instant!"

She waited a couple of seconds to reply, but when she did, it felt like a bomb exploding.

"I apologize in advance for my coarse language, but look at this girl. You may see her as a number, but I see her as flesh and bone, flesh that is very slowly being consumed by her mother's anger. If you are going to say that you didn't see the bruises, then shame on you."

Abbott looked down now at the girl in his arms, who looked scared more than anything else. She saw the realization dawn on him, but it was too late.

"I will not stand by any longer. You may suspend me all you want, but I will not be another spectator to another's abuse. If this girl is not pulled out of her home soon, she might not be around for much longer. I will not stand here and let that happen."

She felt something wet on her cheeks, but didn't let it interrupt her speech much.

"Nobody did anything back then, Dennis. Everybody knew what was going on with my father but nobody stepped in. I don't want to be that person to Shelby. I want her to be able to look back and think, 'yeah, that was a shitty fucking place to be in, but at least there were people who cared about me and who helped me through this'." She continued talking but soon noticed that nothing comprehensible was coming out of her mouth, so she stopped.

In the meantime, Abbott had held up his free hand in a calm way, his other arm wrapped around the now shaking girl.

"Teresa, please sit down."

She did, no questions asked, and wiped at her face - to her dismay, she found tears, a large quantity of them even.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I apologize for the delay, bureaucracy is horrible these days. I will contact my friend at Child Services right this instance." He took in a breath. "I presume you have called 9-1-1 for Ms. Ford's parents?"

She nodded. She thought of her conversation with Mr. Ford. In no way would she send Shelby down there, but she was worried that he wouldn't be coming out of this well.

"Alright. Your classes are hereby dismissed for the day. Stay in my office, the both of you."

He helped Shelby to a nearby chair, and made sure they were both alright. He stepped towards the door, but turned around at the last moment.

"Is there anyone I need to call for you, Teresa?"

She shook her head. She could think of someone, but it was clear to her that Abbott didn't want him on the school grounds.

"I suspended him for his safety more than anything else."

With that, he left, sending Lena in to look after them. She was visibly shocked by the turn of events, but she didn't question any of Lisbon's actions.

Lena, who was Abbott's wife and assistant, poured the two of them some water and sat with them.

When Lisbon had calmed down a little, she looked at Shelby again.

"I'm sorry for my sudden outburst, Shelby."

"I'm sorry for not coming to you sooner for help. I didn't want to ruin that good mood Mr. Jane leaves you in."

Lisbon shook her head and shuffled towards the girl, so she was able to brush some tears out of her face.

"No. I am sorry, Shelby Ford. I am your teacher, and you confided in me, something I know is very difficult to do sometimes. I didn't pay attention to you, nor your peers, and neglected my duties as your teacher and mentor. I was distracted by other things, but I promise you, whatever will come out of this situation, I will be there for you. I promise."

She wiped the girl's tears off her cheeks, and after a few moments, a small smile cracked through her sorrowful facade.

Now, it was just waiting until Abbott came back with good news.

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't want to make Lisbon so aggressive but I can understand where she's coming from. I hope you can, too. Drop me a line, it is highly appreciated and makes me sleep at night!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thanks for the feedback! I was blown away by the amount!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 18**_

Child Services arrived surprisingly quickly, seeing as they should have come up with a solution for this situation weeks ago. They took in Shelby and went to a quiet room to discuss some matters with her. The police followed too, to talk with both Shelby and Lisbon about the things that had happened.

Child Services didn't have a family available on such short notice, so they asked Lisbon if she was able to care for Shelby, at least for the night. Of course, Lisbon couldn't possibly refuse. The only problem was that she didn't have a lot of space to house herself and her passionate lover, let alone a teenage girl, even if it was temporary.

When Child Services filled in the paperwork with the police present, she stepped out of the office for a quick breath. She instantly reached into her pocket and speed dialed his number, and while the phone connected, she thought about what she was going to say to him. How could she even begin to fathom what had happened so far?

"Darling, you have to stop calling me, my husband is getting suspicious."

A group of students passed by, and she had to turn around so her bright grin was not visible to the entire world.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he continued when she didn't say anything.

She quickly got her senses back when she thought of the reason she was calling him, and sobered up.

"I cannot begin to explain the morning I've had so far?"

"Do you want me to come?"

"If you want to keep your job, stay at home. I will be fine."

She sighed and wrapped an arm around herself, for as much that was possible.

"I know you pretended not to know whose parents were plotting against you."

He was silent for a while, and she knew she had quickly sobered him up, too.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Teresa."

"Don't worry about it. I know you did it so I wouldn't worry. The thing is… Shelby can't stay at her home anymore, and Child Services doesn't have a foster family readily available for her, not in the area anyway, so…"

"So she's going to stay at your place."

"Yes."

She hoped that he knew what that meant, for them.

"I will get the necessary items. You just finish what you have to do at work and come home when you're ready."

"Patrick… I didn't see the signs." She felt he wanted to find out more about her meaning, but he didn't say anything. "She had bruises before and I failed to notice it. Maybe I had seen it but it didn't register, but… I was so busy with you… that I didn't pay attention to my work. I don't want another student to suffer that consequence."

"What are you saying, Teresa?"

"I… I don't know. I just… can't afford more distractions. I guess… I love you, but… I need some time alone."

He was quiet, and she regretted bringing it up almost instantly, but she knew she agreed with herself on what she had said. The fact that this morning she hadn't even felt herself while she went to work, as though she couldn't properly function without him, proved to her that she might be a bit too dependent on him and his love. She didn't want to be an entirely changed person because she loved Patrick Jane.

"I understand." He paused. "Will I see you tonight?"

"Yes."

"Then I can't wait to see you."

"Please don't try to change my mind."

She heard a huff, and realized she had probably insulted him a little bit. Of course she knew he wouldn't change her mind - he knew that she loved him, and that she wanted to be with him.

"I wouldn't dare, Teresa."

"I'm sorry."

"I love you, Teresa."

"I love you, too."

~...~

Lisbon joined Shelby Ford to pick up some necessary belongings at her home. She didn't enter the house, felt it would be too much privacy invading for one day, and merely let it be known to her that she would be waiting outside when she was ready.

The girl stepped out of the house with only a few items in her hands. Lisbon wondered why she hadn't brought more with her - she was a well-dressed young woman, with well-groomed looks. Surely she had to bring at least some make-up or clothes with her. Even Lisbon, if she would go away for a few days, packed some make-up, and she hardly wore any.

Shelby stepped in to sit on the passenger's side. She put most of her belongings on the space near her feet, but tightly clutched an obviously worn down stuffed animal.

"Don't judge me, Ms. Lisbon."

"I'm not. And you may call me Teresa, if you want."

The girl looked to her side. She shook her head.

"Nah. You're Ms. Lisbon to me."

"Alright, fair enough."

Lisbon drove away, and they fell into a brief conversation about nothing of significance, when Shelby started talking. Lisbon noticed as soon as the girl started with her sentence that she meant business.

"Will Mr. Jane be there at your place?"

She applauded the girl inwardly. Of course, she had seen that first kiss so she knew something more was going on between them, but Lisbon never figured she would find out about him staying at her place.

"Yes. He won't stay the night, however."

"Why?"

Well, why, Teresa Lisbon? She knew why, but she wasn't entirely comfortable discussing her love life with her student. Then again, said student's entire life had just been thrown into Lisbon's lap, even if the girl hadn't wanted that to happen, so perhaps Lisbon could cut her at least some slack.

"Because I think it would be a little awkward."

"A little." Shelby chuckled and ran a hand over her bear toy, likely out of habit. "Ms. Lisbon, I don't want your life to fall to shambles just because mine just did."

"It's not just that, Shelby."

"Well, what is it, then?"

Lisbon sighed, taking a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

"Sometimes, things go a little fast, and you don't have time to breathe. It is only when you look back at it later that you realize that you need a little break to catch your breath."

"But you do love him, don't you?"

"Of course I do. But occasionally, we all need a breather. Be it from a boyfriend, or our parents, or our teachers. It doesn't mean that you don't love them, or don't respect them. It just means you need a bit of time and space to be you, without them around."

"And it will probably set you on fire with love."

Lisbon smiled and shrugged. "Probably." Hopefully.

The rest of their ride to her apartment was silent.

Jane greeted them at the door, smiling at her but not kissing her, likely trying not to make this any more awkward for Shelby than it already was. He showed Shelby the little area he had prepared for her, which consisted of an air mattress complete with covers and a pillow, a little table Lisbon didn't know she owned which would serve as nightstand and some additional blankets and spreads neatly folded should she need it.

They gave Shelby a bit of time to get her items settled in, and Jane pulled Lisbon apart, out of hearing distance from the girl.

"I didn't mean to suffocate you, Teresa," he whispered, keeping his hands to himself. She wasn't used to these kinds of action between them, not after the past few weeks.

"I didn't voice my opinion properly over the phone. Damn, I shouldn't have even done this over the phone." She went on tiptoe and kissed his lips, her hands leaving a trail over his chest. He happily obliged. "I love you, and it scares me, but I want this. I haven't been with somebody for a long time, and it feels good. Yet this morning made me realize that I can't be both at the moment - I can't be your lover and a capable teacher at the same time. And both are very important to me, but I can't keep them apart. So… I need a little time apart. Just the weekend. Hopefully, by Monday CS will have found a solution for Shelby and I will finally be able to stop worrying about her."

He kissed her forehead, running his hand through her hair.

"Okay."

She wrapped her arms around him. She would miss him, she knew that, but she stood by her decision. She needed a little more space from him, or else she might start feeling actually claustrophobic, and that could be possibly traumatizing.

~...~

He cooked for them, and Lisbon watched him, loved to observe his movements as he carefully prepared his marvelous meals. He always made sure the food wasn't too hot, or too salty, and even when she would show him she enjoyed it, he would have his doubts.

Shelby was calling people, had been doing so for the past forty minutes. In the beginning, it sounded like she was calling her friends, without a word about her current living situation, but now, Lisbon got the idea she was talking to a family member. It sounded a bit serious.

As soon as Jane put the finished product on the table, Shelby ended her conversation. Lisbon had never noticed she was such a well-mannered young woman, perhaps she had been too influenced by her friends at school for Lisbon to notice.

"Shelby, I do need to discuss something with you."

The girl nodded, looking at her plate, probably distracted too much to hear Lisbon's words.

"This living arrangement might get awkward at some point, seeing as I'm your teacher and we've never seen each other out of school, but I want you to know that you can discuss anything with me, if you want. Well, anything, you don't have to discuss anything. But if you want talk about something, anything that's bothering you or keeping you from sleep, you may come to me."

Shelby nodded once again, but was fully paying attention to her teacher now.

"And I will promise I will not act weird, or invade your privacy. You can trust me."

"Ms. Lisbon. Staying here, despite it being awkward, is better than the alternative." Shelby reached out and for the first time since Lisbon had learned about the girl's predicament, Shelby initiated physical contact herself, by touching Lisbon's hand. "Thank you, for having me."

They ate the food in relative silence, and when the time came to retire to bed, Jane bid them goodnight. Shelby waved at him, feeling a bit less uncomfortable in the whole situation, while she prepared herself for bed.

Lisbon walked with him to the front door.

"Just a clarification," he began, "this is not a breakup. This is merely a time-out."

She nodded, and opened the door, making him step outside.

"Will I see you Sunday evening, then?"

She looked down at her feet. Who knew what process Shelby's case could have made by then? She couldn't say at that specific point in time.

"If not, I will call you."

He stepped towards her and lifted her chin, kissing her lips. "I will hold you to that, Teresa."

With that, he walked away, his hands in his pockets, and she had to close the door quickly so she wouldn't come after him. She had no idea if this had been the right move. Perhaps she had actually condemned their relationship this way, and they couldn't recover from it. She just hoped she had the right amount of faith in this relationship - and that he could understand her wishes, no matter if that brought them apart for a moment.

* * *

 **A/N: There you go! I don't intend to tear Jane and Lisbon apart though so hold on!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Last chapter was Angsty, but this chapter is fluffy! Hope you're ready for it!**

 **Also, so excited that Wade (from Markiplier) proposed to his girlfriend at PAX! (Don't even know if it was PAX but it sure looked like it.) I know none of you know what I'm talking about but I need to vent it somewhere, so: AAAAAAH.**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 19**_

The weekend passed by relatively quickly. The investigators working Shelby's case had advised her not to contact her mother nor her father, and wouldn't tell them exactly where they were, other than that they were doing alright, considering the circumstances. Lisbon didn't exactly know why the investigators had felt the need to impose such an unwritten rule on a teenage girl who was longing to see her family again, but she realized after some time that it likely had to do with creating some space, too. Mr. Ford possibly needed time to heal after what had happened, and Mrs. Ford, well, Lisbon's maternal instincts had kicked in full force - she wouldn't allow Shelby Ford's mother to come close to her daughter, unless Shelby really wanted it.

Shelby had taken the opportunity to get some one-on-one tutoring, and Lisbon provided that where possible while also grading tests and keeping the house tidy.

Without lying, she didn't mind a life like this, was it not for the fact that she missed Jane - it felt like he had taken her heart with him when he had left for the weekend, even though it had been her who had instilled their time-out. Perhaps all she needed to know she never wanted to part from him again was one weekend apart.

She realized that she had let him do a lot for her, which had made her feel like a princess but it was not who she was. She liked preparing her own coffee, or cleaning the house a bit, or cooking meals. She supposed that when he would come back, they could split the work equally, so she wouldn't feel like she depended on him too much, and he could relax a bit, too. And anyway, he had told her that he loved to watch her - this would give him ample time to look at her.

"Ms. Lisbon, I don't really understand this sentence."

Lisbon was torn out of her thoughts by Shelby's muffled voice as she was nearly head-first in one of her textbooks. Lisbon focused almost immediately, remember the task at hand.

"Can you read it out to me?"

Shelby looked at the sentence, frowned a bit, and after considerate thinking realized she couldn't. She handed the textbook to Lisbon and pointed at the sentence, who read it, interested to see what kind of sentence had baffled Shelby Ford. After all, the young girl was quite good expressing herself in her language, more so than others her age.

' _The rat the cat the dog chased killed ate the malt.'_

Ah. She had seen sentences like this multiple times, and was always amazed by how the English language worked sometimes. No wonder non-Native speakers found it hard to understand it from time to time.

"This is what we call multiple center embedding. The sentence 'the rat ate the malt' is perfectly understandable, but we can put in another clause to make it more complicated. For instance, 'the rat the cat chased ate the malt' is still comprehensible, but the more clauses you put in, the less coherent the sentence becomes. In this case, the rat ate the malt. Then it was killed by a cat. That specific cat had been chased by the dog."

She saw Shelby's mind being blown, and smiled.

"Grammatically, it's fine. The style, not so much."

"I hate English," Shelby muttered, but a smile was on her face. She was still trying to comprehend the explanation when Lisbon heard a knock on the door. She stood up to open it, curious who it would be, and soon discovered it was the spokesperson of Child Services she had talked with earlier that week. She was greeted by a kind smile, and stepped aside to let her in.

"Ms. Lisbon, I'm here for Shelby."

"Of course. She's in the kitchen."

But there was no need to point the woman to the correct direction, as the girl met up with them halfway.

"Do you have news about my dad?"

The woman nodded, and motioned for both of them to sit down. Lisbon only sat down after she had offered her something to drink, which she refused.

"Shelby, first of all, I wanted to apologize for the turn of events these past few days. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like for you. I also would like to apologize for not bringing forth a suitable solution sooner. We did not intent for the situation to escalate like this."

"We can't change the past anymore," Shelby quickly stated, obviously wanting to know how her father was doing. It sounded weird, but Lisbon wanted to know, too.

"Your father is doing well, considering the circumstances. He will likely go home later today, so you can go stay with him if you want. You don't have to, however. If you want to stay with Ms. Lisbon for a little longer, you are allowed to, if it's okay with Ms. Lisbon of course."

Shelby looked at Lisbon, but she knew what the girl was going to say. It was okay. She didn't need to stay to make her teacher feel better - if she got the chance to be with her father, she should take it with both hands.

"I prefer to be with my dad."

"I understand. Then I just need to get a signature from Ms. Lisbon proving she 'handed' you over, as it were, and then you're good to go."

And it really was that easy - Lisbon signed some papers, filled in some additional information and then helped Shelby pack her things.

"Thank you," the girl whispered in the middle of packing.

"You're welcome, Shelby. You know that. No matter how busy you think I am with school, or with Jane… you can always come to me for help."

Shelby nodded and smiled. Lisbon hoped that if Shelby took anything home concerning life lessons, it would be that she could always go up to anyone she trusted to talk about what was troubling her.

They parted with a tight hug, and Lisbon felt a little bit emotional letting the girl go. However, and she knew it sounded very wacky, but she was aware of what she would be getting back now - or rather, who.

She needed to get her thoughts straight when Shelby Ford had left, so she decided to take a bath this time, taking her time to think things through.

What had this weekend taught her? For starters, she knew that she needed to focus more on being the teacher she knew she could be. That meant less time with Jane while they were at work, and having to set real boundaries to maintain a certain professionalism.

And then Jane. She would be lying if she would admit she had felt sort of claustrophobic the way they had been going at it. Then again, she hadn't thought of communicating with him a lot, if at all. She would do that, though.

If there was one thing that she had learned, above anything, was that she truly did love him, with everything she had, body and soul. She knew communication was key in a healthy relationship, and that would be her point of learning.

She thought about not calling him, and just let him show up at the time they had discussed, but he didn't deserve that. He had been nothing but patient and understanding, the least he deserved was for her to be open and honest.

She reached out to grab her phone, and dialed his number. She got a small smile on her phone waiting for it to connect.

"Hey," he responded, and she could hear some insecurity in his voice. She almost slapped herself for causing him that, especially considering that he usually answered in a way that was guaranteed to make her smile.

"Hey."

She put her head back and ran a hand through her hair, preventing it from hitting the water.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Okay, I suppose."

She closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Patrick. I shouldn't have pushed you away. I should have talked to you."

He didn't respond, and she cringed, worrying if she had screwed up already.

"It wouldn't have mattered. Shelby Ford was going to stay with you anyway, whether we were communicating or not didn't matter. And you made the right choice, to decide that I shouldn't be sleeping at your place while one of our students was also staying there."

They went quiet for a while. She felt her cheeks flush more and more by the heat of the water. If he had been here, she knew what they would have been doing. It was not talking.

"Look, I don't want to discuss this further over the phone. Are you home?"

She nodded, and let out a yes when she stupidly realized he couldn't see her nod.

"Can I come over?"

"Please."

"See you soon, then."

He hung up the phone and she put her phone down. She didn't care about her hair anymore - she slid down until her entire head was under water.

She couldn't help but feel like she had made a huge mistake in asking for some time.

~...~

After about ten minutes, the door to the bathroom opened slowly, and she opened her eyes to find him standing in the doorway, his suit in great shape, his face recently shaved and his curls look well brushed.

The flush to her cheeks returned, but it wasn't because of the water.

"I feel a bit overdressed," he said, and she smiled, shifting a bit to find a more comfortable position. She had been in this bath for far too long, but the water was still too nice to get out.

He raised his arms, putting on display a small bouquet of flowers.

She sat up.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

He approached her, put down the flowers and sat down on the edge of the tub.

"I don't want you to think that I feel badly about your decision for a time-out. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. And I want you to know that you can talk to me if you need to. If more space is what you need, I will give it to you. With extra love. But don't feel like you have to crop up feelings because you're afraid that I will dislike your needs."

He slid off the edge and knelt beside the bath, now his eyes were on actual eye-level.

"We're in this relationship together, alright? I know that it has been a while, for both of us, but we need to keep communicating if we want to continue this."

She nodded. He was quiet as he looked into her eyes, and she could read his entire soul, laid out bare for her. She swallowed.

"Will you please join me? The water isn't as warm as it used to be but it's still a bit nice."

He didn't need more convincing, and already worked on ditching his clothes at the end of her first sentence, and she looked at his movements, following his thin, long fingers, fumbling with the buttons on his vest.

"You're not wearing your wedding ring."

He didn't even face her when he answered, as though he was talking about the weather.

"I'm not married."

He finished undressing, and she knew her eyebrows were practically on the top of her head out of confusion. He turned towards her, in all his naked glory, and she only barely managed to focus on her previous inquiry.

She knew being her lover had made him more confident of his body, and she was glad. She liked a lover who knew exactly what he could do to her, and who was proud of it.

Wait. She remembered his words before. She was frowning as he stepped into the bath, facing her, taking her feet in his lap.

She didn't have such a big bath, but it was cozy.

He looked at her, reading her face. His hands massaging her feet spread a warmth throughout her body.

"I want you to know that I'm serious about this, Teresa. I'm not holding anything back, not anymore. If you want some time alone, I'll stay away. But as long as you will have me, I'm staying close."

She nodded, and his eyes smiled at her. He waited a few seconds with his next action, but eventually, he lifted one of her feet to kiss it, but as a result, her body slipped away and her head dove under the surface. Her arms worked hard to resurface, and she struggled, but eventually she felt his strong hands around her wrists, pulling her up. She coughed and caught her breath, and in the background, she heard him laughing softly.

She took back her wrists and pushed her now drenched hair back. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

She _was_ laughing. It even if she knew it was about her, it looked good on him.

"You're laughing at me."

He laughed even harder at that, until he was clutching his chest to catch his breath.

"Your… face… when you went down…" he gasped between breaths. He attempted to imitate her face, but found it didn't work, yet it made her smile, too.

She came closer and slid in his lap, and touched his face, caressing everything about it.

She connected their bodies, and he was still laughing as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and moved inside her further.

She loved seeing him laugh, and she loved when they were laughing during their lovemaking. It made everything seem much more real.

She had seen him a million times since they had been together, and every time she saw him, she saw a new side to him. She was slowly starting to ease into the idea that this might be it, that he might be the man she wanted to grow old with.

"Patrick?"

He looked up at her, his face level with her chest, and she saw his beautiful smile.

"Hmm?"

"Will you move in with me?"

His smile grew even more until she thought his cheeks would burst any moment.

"I would love to."

And so they had sealed their future together.

~...~

They had caught up with their missing days, but not so much that they didn't sleep at all. They had to set up some boundaries so they could still properly execute their jobs. Even if Jane was still suspended, she was not.

He had woken up beside her, still fully naked, holding her close. For the first time since forever, he had not left the bed to make her breakfast, or her coffee. He was there with her, as soon as she opened her eyes. Living with him, officially now, and not just him crashing at her place, would fill her with endless joy.

It was like their timeout had cleared some air, and neither of them had any doubts left about what this meant to them. Especially not since she had asked him to move on with her, and he had accepted.

That reminded her that they needed to buy some additional furniture to accommodate two human beings - a bigger tub, maybe a king-size bed, a comfortable couch… bottom line was that she needed more space to cuddle up with him.

She looked at him, still blissfully asleep, his face relaxed and the corners of his mouth turned upwards. Her hand traced his lips, going down, caressing his naked chest.

He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. And he was her man. Hers to love, to hold, to caress and kiss and to have in her bed. She felt like the luckiest woman on planet Earth, and every single day she was with him, her love for him grew to new heights. She never knew she could love someone like she loved him.

She got up and walked to the kitchen, on her way there grabbing the nearest piece of clothing she could find to put on, which turned out to be one of his shirts which had been there for quite a while.

She prepared a small breakfast for him, half of her thoughts still with their night together. This was obviously not the first night, and it wouldn't be the last, hopefully. Yet she would never get enough of them, or of him, in that matter.

She wasn't a star in cooking but she supposed it had to do, putting it on a tray and carrying it to the bedroom, finding him still asleep. She smiled and put the tray on the nightstand, making sure it wouldn't fall over.

A quick glance at the clock told her she had plenty of time to wake him up. And she would take her time.

She slid into the space beside him that was especially made for her, and moved closer until she could kiss his ear, which she did. One of her hands caressed his chest, sliding down now, brushing his pelvic bone. A small smile appeared on his lips, and she giggled.

"Mr. Jane," she whispered, "it's time to wake up."

He protested a little bit, but eventually opened his eyes, looking right into hers. After a few seconds, he looked down and he noticed she was wearing his shirt. He groaned low in his throat.

"Well, just Lisbon," he began, kissing her neck, no doubt leaving a massive hickey, "you do know how to wake a man up."

She turned onto her back and he came with her, but she pointed at the tray on the nightstand. She smiled as his initial lust transformed into a childlike enthusiasm.

"Breakfast in bed." He looked down at her, and his smile was blinding. "You're a keeper."

~...~

She was met by Abbott almost immediately when she entered the school building. She was scared of him scolding her but she couldn't possibly walk away from him, he was the director.

"Teresa, may I speak with you?"

She nodded, and he motioned for her to follow him. They sat down in his office, and he took a while with stating his intentions, but found the courage eventually.

"I want to apologize."

"For what, exactly?"

"Suspending Jane."

She sighed. "It's not me you should be apologizing to, Sir.`

He lowered his head.  
"I only thought about the lawsuit that might come. And the school board chasing my ass about me having hired a murderer… I didn't take both sides into consideration. I want to apologize to him, too, but I saw how it affected you, so I thought you deserved to know."

"How did it affect me?"

"I never saw you defend someone like that before. I know you did it for Shelby Ford, too, or mainly did it for her. But I know he was in your thoughts, too."

She didn't say anything, simply crossed one leg over the other and intertwined her fingers.

"Tell me, Teresa, why is it that you defend him?"

She looked at him, crossing their eyes, and she saw understanding there, as he raised an eyebrow.

"You love him." He took in a breath, and crossed his arms. "How very gross for the rest of us."

She rolled her eyes but it got her smiling a little bit. They were silent for about a minute, but it felt like forever.  
"Teresa, I don't want the board to know."

"About me and Jane?"

He thought about that, and shrugged. "Perhaps. But I meant his past. I know that he's not a malicious person, but the board doesn't know that."

She nodded. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't want you to talk about it anymore, or Jane. And if anyone asks, we say it was manslaughter in self-defense." He sighed. "For some reason, that seems to be okay for the law."

"You want us to lie?"

He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk.

"It's either that, or I have to fire him."

She swallowed and nodded. "I will discuss it with him."

She got up but him speaking stopped her.

"Don't be gross at school, if he comes back. I don't want a repeat show of Wylie and Vega."

"Yes, Sir."

She walked towards the door but then suddenly realized that there was still one piece of information she was missing.

"How is Shelby?"

"She's with her father now, he's recovering. They're doing alright. Mrs. Ford, however, is arrested for suspicion of domestic and child abuse." He sighed. "Spoke with her caseworker before you arrived, the case doesn't look good for the Mrs."

 _Well, good._ Lisbon thought to herself. She could practically hear God scolding her but she stood by her thought. She had never met Mrs. Ford, but she had still managed to piss Lisbon off by not taking good care of her own daughter.

"Okay."

"I know many people have told you before, but we're all really thankful that you took care of Shelby Ford."

"I would have wanted someone to do the same for me if I was in such a situation."

Abbott nodded, and they parted.

She had told Abbott that she would discuss the matter with Jane, but she already knew what he would choose. He would happily slip into a quiet life as a housewife, and he would never work again. Because she knew that Patrick Jane was not really made for a full-time job, but instead only served to please his woman - which was her.

She was lucky.

Maybe he would take up a restful hobby, renovate a cabin somewhere, learn a new language, or perhaps raise their babies, should they be lucky enough to have some. She brushed that last thought away. They had only just decided to move in together - thinking about babies was still way out of the question.

* * *

 **A/N: There you go! Hope you liked it, drop me a line if you are able to, and I will see you guys tomorrow! Also, from this moment on, I will be good to Jane and Lisbon, trust me.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Posting it quickly before I'm going to bed - start at 6 am tomorrow and then after I work a night shift. Hope you'll enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 20**_

Four months later

Michelle looked at the recently painted wall in awe, her hand rubbing her swollen belly. She nodded in silent approval.

"Lisbon, you have missed your calling."

Lisbon chuckled and shook her head.

"Just a lucky shot."

Although she had to admit, she was surprised that the paint work turned out so well. She guessed it wasn't too hard to apply an even layer of gray paint to a perfectly even wall.

"I think it's time for drinks."

Lisbon smiled and nodded in agreement. When they came downstairs, they saw the boys break their heads over how to put together the crib. Wylie was looking at the manual in frustration, and Jane was merely staring at a wooden part, turning it around to look at it from all angles.

Michelle looked at Lisbon with an eyebrow raised and both of them chuckled.

"The idiots," Lisbon muttered under her breath, and Michelle walked up to them to pull them away from their difficult task. Lisbon poured all of them a glass of the lemonade Michelle had prepared, took the glasses with her to the table.

The entire place was still scattered with carton boxes, which contained all of their personal belongings, none of the furniture that was unpacked was on its destined position, but Lisbon could tell that this would eventually turn out to be a warm house, cozy and timeless and the perfect house to raise a little one in.

It made Lisbon a little jealous, not to have such a cozy home yet with her love, but she hoped they could soon find one, too.

She had been right in her suspicions - he didn't want to continue his work at the school, but not specifically for the reason she had thought. He had argued that he didn't want to lie about his past, didn't want to pretend not to have avenged his family, and she understood.

Then again, life with him was good now. It turned out to be better not to be surrounded by him 24/7, not to be around him at school as well as at home. She knew that, no matter how long the day was and no matter how long Abbott would ask her to stay for a last minute meeting, Patrick Jane would be at home waiting for her. Pampering her senseless, preparing her favorite dishes, massaging her sore feet and back, and altogether making life a bit more bearable.

Shelby was doing well, and her standard smile had returned, the one she had showcased all throughout the first and second year. It did Lisbon well, to see Shelby Ford so happy. To top it all off, Mr. Ford had found a good job to sustain him and his daughter, they had moved to a smaller home, and Shelby was dating Dwayne Wilson. Lisbon wouldn't dare say that she was a hopeless romantic, but it seem obvious that everyone in her close vicinity who had found love turned into a version of themselves that only made them better than they already were. Lisbon in this matter was not an exclusion.

Mrs. Ford was found guilty on the charge of domestic and child abuse. The judge had ruled the child abuse more severe in this case, and had sentenced her to two years in prison. Lisbon knew this, because she had come to all the court hearings together with Shelby.

Now, Shelby Ford finally could put all of this behind her and focus on graduating, and catching up with lost time together with her father.

She felt a familiar hand on her shoulder, and couldn't help smiling. She looked up and he kissed her forehead, sporting a similar smile on his lips.

"I would have thought that you would immediately know how to put that crib together."

He sat down next to her, trying to judge what meaning was underneath those words, and she hoped he knew she didn't mean it like that. She wouldn't dare bring that up in public without his permission.

"Teresa, even the greatest of men have flaws. Mine is constructing furniture that is obviously designed not to be finished."

She rolled her eyes.

"So now you're a great man?"

Wylie and Michelle laughed, and Jane pinched her side.

They continued their conversation with light topics, until their glasses were finished and Wylie got up to continue with the crib. Jane took that as a hint and got up, kissing her lips briefly, and walked towards the 'construction site'.

Michelle scooted over and sat down beside her, both of them looking at the two men.

"It's obvious."

Lisbon frowned and looked to the side.

"What is?"

"Well, you love him."

"I do." She smiled. "I didn't know it was still a secret."

"I hardly saw you, Lisbon." The woman retreated in her seat and rubbed her belly. "You deserve it. He's good for you."

Lisbon smiled and watched as Jane finally managed to attach some of the particles in the proper place. Both men cheered and looked at the women, big smiles on their faces.

Lisbon's heart swelled, like it always did when she looked at him, and which it hopefully always would. More than comfortable, she was fully content living with him. She couldn't have imagined months ago that she would be so happy with him - the first time she had met him, she had wanted to kill him, his arrogance permanently irritating him. He had always been there saying incredulous things to her, and she hadn't recognized then that he was flirting with her. Then, when she couldn't deny it anymore, she had opened her eyes and she had seen him, really seen him, and she had tripped so hard she had almost fallen flat on her face. He had been there to catch her, and she was forever grateful for his love.

She had been so scared at the beginning, it had been ages since she had actually loved someone like this, let alone so deeply, but he had only been patient and understanding. He had proven to her that he truly loved her, and that she loved him, and he continued to do so on a daily basis.

He was the face of her future, and she liked it. Michelle was right: he was good for her, and she was good for him.

She looked at Michelle, who was merely smiling at her.

"You coming to the Senior's Ball?"

Lisbon nodded.

"You?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I haven't seen these students in, like, forever."

That reminded Lisbon of the fact that Michelle had, in fact, taught at their school, too, but then had had to retreat after her personal tragedy. Lisbon was glad she was doing better now. Just like Teresa Lisbon, Michelle Vega deserved to be a happy, lucky woman, too.

"Will you take Wylie?"

"Only if you take Jane."

She shook the woman's hand and smiled.

"Deal."

~...~

The prom committee barged into her classroom while she was in the middle of teaching one of her freshman groups.

"Ms. Lisbon, we know you don't like people barging into your classes, but we want to formally invite you to our Senior's prom."

Lisbon looked at the freshmen in the seats who obviously already wanted to be like the Seniors, and then looked back at the boys and girls from the Senior year.

"I was already coming as a chaperone."

The obvious leader, Heather, nodded but stepped forward.

"We just wanted to make sure that you came. You're our favorite teacher and we want to celebrate prom with you."

"Of course I will come."

"Great! And take a date with you. The theme is the Roaring Twenties."

Just as quickly as they had entered, they left the room. Lisbon was left trying to regain herself so she could continue teaching.

~...~

Patrick Jane was at peace.

He had never thought he would ever feel like this, months ago he had hit bottom low. He just wanted a distraction from his lasting idea that he didn't have a purpose in this life, and wanted to be with his family once more.

And then he met her.

His life hasn't been the same ever since. He saw her walk into the teacher's lounge on that first day, and he knew she would spice up his life one way or another.

He remembered something a good friend had said a long time ago.

'To make a woman fall in love, make her laugh.'

Well. He had made her laugh on a daily basis, but it hadn't been particularly her who was falling in love - it had been him.

Head over heels. Every day with her was paradise, even if he only saw her for five minutes. Everything he did, he did it for her.

"Teresa, we'll be running late!"

It was not often she spent forever putting on make-up and preparing herself for whatever she was facing. Not even when they went for dinner together did she spend so much time on her appearance. Perhaps because she knew that he would love her anyway.

"Coming!"

He heard footsteps at the other side of the bedroom door, and he felt giddy awaiting her, straightening his vest, hoping he looked good enough to walk beside her. He would always pale in comparison to her, but he sure loved walking beside her, offering her his arm, and have her accept his gentlemanly ways.

The door opened and he turned to face her, and his breath caught in his throat when she registered in his brain.

She fit perfectly in the Roaring Twenties, he realized, as he took in her beautiful black dress, evenly covered with small strings of lace and a few shimmers. Her hair was pulled back and around her hair was a headband that matched her dress. Her delicate feet were graced by pretty shoes with a T-shaped strap.

He let out a whiff of air, unable to voice anything intelligible that would do the real beauty standing in front of him any justice.

She merely smiled at him, knowing exactly what she was doing to him. She darted her eyes over his appearance, and nodded. He felt he had been judged and found appropriate.

She went on tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Let's go, then."

He followed her like a loyal pet, opening doors for her and guiding her to the car.

This night would be a very good one.

~...~

He behaved, only dancing twice with her, keeping his hands relatively to himself so they could give the right example to the other students.

Everybody was surprised to see Michelle Vega show up, with her perfectly rounded belly and her adorkable fiancé supporting her with his arm.

The evening passed by quickly, Lisbon being a proper chaperone while also having fun with the students. Wylie managed the drink stand, and Cho walked around the dance floor like a goddamn soldier.

That left Jane and Michelle to sit on the side, and they talked about nothing significant, until the topic of him and Teresa came up.

"You love her."

"I do."

She smiled.

"I'm glad."

He didn't know this woman for long, but he liked the mentality she had. She was playful but at the same time managed to be serious when it was most needed.

"So will you pop the question soon?"

Such a direct approach startled him, and he took the time to think about what he was going to answer. He had thought about this very question a lot in the past few weeks, yet he didn't know what had brought on that idea. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew he would never find something like this ever again. They had been living together for months now and he had loved every second of it so far.

"I will take that as a yes. Good." She smiled at Wylie who brought a cup of punch to her, bowing a little bit before her to put on a show. To Jane, it was also obvious how much these two loved each other. The road to their end goal might have been a bit unconventional, but it didn't lessen their love.

"I might not have known Lisbon as much as everybody else, but even to me it is obvious that you changed her, for the better. She has been single for so long, and it obviously made her a bit lonely. But now… you always make her smile, even when you're not there."

Jane smiled, and looked down.

"I try my best."

He looked up and found Teresa smiling at him, and around her some girls were smiling and giggling. He raised an eyebrow but smiled back, adding a little wave.

When he looked back at Michelle, he found her smiling.

"You got it good."

* * *

 **A/N: Please drop me a line!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Posting this quickly before I start my night shift!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 21**_

Abbott got everyone's attention and thanked everybody for coming. After a short speech, he looked towards Lisbon and called her up on the stage.

"Thank you, Dennis. Hello, good evening," she said, and Jane was a little caught off guard. He didn't know that she would be giving a speech, and was suddenly scared of what she would say. If there was anything she wasn't good at, it was speeches. "I know what you're thinking: Ms. Lisbon cannot speech, why does she even bother? All I want to say is, thank you for the amazing year. I know that most of you are scared for the finals that are coming up. I'm not going to tell you that you needn't be scared, I want you to take it as serious as you can. Yet I know that you can do it. All of you have showed these past four years that you have endless capabilities. The finals are just a snapshot, it doesn't show everything that you can do."

She took in a breath, and so far, Jane was sort of impressed.

"This year has been a roller-coaster ride for all of you. It might not have been easy, and it might not be easy for you on the short-term, but now that we at this school have faith in you. _I_ have faith in you. You can do so much. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't."

She looked into the crowd and of all the people there, she found him easily. She smiled briefly, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, you still have about half an hour left until the party ends. Enjoy!"

People clapped and she got off the stage, walking up to Jane with a smile. He got up from his chair, and bowed for her. She curtsied, lifting the sides of her dress slightly.

"Just Lisbon, I dare say that was a good speech."

"Thank you, Mr. Jane."

"I didn't expect it, but I'm impressed either way."

She rolled her eyes, but stepped closer to him. She brought her lips close to his ear, and he still shuddered when she was this close, even after all this time.

"Will you dance with me?"

He nodded, and offered her his hand, which she took. They walked to the dance floor, keeping on the outside a little but so they wouldn't pull a lot of attention towards themselves, and she slipped into his arms, so naturally, like she was made specifically for his hold.

He made up his mind in that moment.

"Teresa, I have a surprise for you later tonight."

"Oh?"

He didn't respond to that, simply took pleasure in holding her so close.

The rest of the night passed by quickly, and the students all went home at the official time the party was supposed to end, probably continuing it at their own places. Not that the teachers really cared, most of them just wanted to get home.

Lisbon thanked Abbott and was interrupted when Jane took her hand. She looked at him and he knew she could read that he wanted to be with her, now, and excused herself.

He held her hand firmly, and he sensed her looking at him in a confused manner. He wanted to explain, but he didn't want to start this here. He knew just the place to take her to.

They arrived there within ten minutes, which she spent all the while looking at him. He looked to his side briefly, and their eyes met.

"I'm not kidnapping you," he whispered.

She smiled softly. "It looks like it."

"I can't explain. You will know when you see it."

It was Lake Austin. When he had been alone at home, waiting for his love to finish work, he had had a lot of time to read about the area. He wasn't from around there, so he didn't know what nice places to visit were. This place had tickled his romantic senses. He hoped she would like it, too.

He opened the door for her, and they walked to the beach, Jane supporting her as she took off her shoes. He held them as they walked to the edge of the water.

They had a perfect view of Lake Austin by night, with small lights set up along the shore, and some lone boats out on the water.

"It's beautiful, Patrick." She stepped towards him and slipped into his arms, hugging his side. "But is this why you pulled me away from the prom?"

He hesitated, before shaking his head.

"No. I wanted to show you this… but I also wanted to talk to you, for a little bit. I know we often do, but… I…"

She looked up.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head again. He looked down at her beautiful face, the lights behind him lightly flickering in her eyes.

"I'm so happy, with you. I never want to be apart from you again. And the past few months have been so good. I know you feel like that too. I…" Damn, he was bad at expressing his feelings like this. He never shied away from telling her that he loved her, but when he tried to move their relationship to a higher level, he never knew what to say.

So he decided that he wouldn't say anything, and just show it to her. He hoped she wouldn't have any doubts about his love.

He took both her hands in his and lowered himself to one knee. Her eyes widened and she tightened her hold on his hands.

"Will you marry me?"

Her eyes instantly filled with tears and he kissed her hands. She nodded, and swallowed.

He smiled, his smile so bright he hurt his cheeks, but he couldn't help it. This woman, this fierce, brilliant, beautiful, sexy woman agreed to be his wife. She had no idea how happy she had just made him, or maybe she did.

She pulled him up and kissed him, so fiercely and passionately that he gained ten more years to live. In between kisses, she stopped to smile, and touch his face, hug him and take everything in that was there to him. She could have it all, everything.

His beautiful Teresa Lisbon. Soon to be his wife.

~...~

Kimball Cho watched as Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon walked out of the hall, holding hands, no doubt not sleeping all night long.

Michelle Vega and Jason Wylie also left holding hands, but they were less hormonal about their approach. Still, the love they had for each other was clear in everything.

It felt lonely sometimes, to be alone in this group of friends where everybody seemed to be dating. It sounded weird, even in Kimball Cho's head, but even he needed some love from time to time. Not just a one-night-stand, but the real thing. The last time, it had been him screwing up majorly, and perhaps that was the reason he didn't let himself indulge in even light flirting.

He saw one student who was still present in the hall, and she seemed to be a bit sad because of that. He got up and walked towards her, sitting beside her on the bench.

"Don't let this cloud your night, Stephanie."

She shook her head, taking in a deep breath and straightening her back.

"I won't, Mr. Cho. I just… just realized that this is my last year at High School. I just got… a little emotional."

He understood. Not that he would ever feel the same way, but he could imagine that leaving a safe and familiar place would leave an impact on one's life.

"Is there somebody to come pick you up?"

She nodded. "My sister. She's on her way."

They remained silent for a while. Stephanie was one of his favorite students, or at least favorite type of student. She didn't ask a lot of questions and didn't get involved in the drama around her. As far as he knew, she had a long-term boyfriend, which would give her a lot of drama on its own, but she was surrounded by a lot of friends most of the time. Perhaps it was for the best.

He also knew that Stephanie had a little sister called Elyse, who was in the ninth grade, but he couldn't imagine that she would be coming to pick her up. Huh. So they had an older sister?

Eventually, Stephanie's sister did show up, and Cho stood up to greet her. It was not often he actually got to meet sisters-

That just sounded plain creepy.

"Mr. Cho," he said with a hand reached out. She smiled, brushed a strand of hair out of her face and shook his hand.

"Summer. Edgecombe. Thank you so much, Mr. Cho, for making sure that my sister stayed until I was here."

He had to admit, she was a good looking woman, albeit a bit young. Okay, why exactly was he thinking like this? His strict no-girlfriend lifestyle had averted him from a lot of drama over the years, he wasn't going to give that all up for a student's sister. After all, that would completely go against his morals.

She looked at her sister, and gave her a peck on the top of her head. She whispered something into her ear, and it made the girl nod and walk away, presumably their car.

Cho frowned. This did not look well.

"Mr. Cho, I have to be honest with you. My baby sister Elyse has been telling me about you a lot, and when I heard you would be at Steph's prom, I thought, why not investigate?"

He looked at her, trying to gauge what her ulterior motives were. He found he couldn't read people as well as Patrick Jane could.

"And what did you discover?"

She smiled, softly. Her eyes flickered.

"That the picture she had been painting of you doesn't do the real thing justice."

He wondered now what Elyse and Stephanie had been saying about him. Why were they doing it in the first place?

"Mr. Cho, let me just cut right to the bottom of this. I heard you're single. You heard that _I'm_ single."

"Yes."

"So you'll go on a date with me?"

He had to look away to hide his grin. This woman was not here to pick up her sister - she was here to pick _him_ up.

He thought of his friends and coworkers - if they could get love, he could, too. Even if he knew this would most likely end in disaster.

"Never said that."

She raised her eyebrows. She paused, then nodded.

"Alright." She stepped towards him, taking his phone out of his inside jacket pocket, typed in some things, then returned it and tapped his chest. "You have a good one, _Mr. Cho_."

She walked away, not looking back.

"Thank you for the party," she said, opening the door to the outside, already waving at her sister.

Cho felt a smile on his lips. Whatever it was that she wanted to accomplish with this action, it probably worked.

He was truly intrigued now.

~...~

She laughed while also catching her breath. He joined her, turning onto his back, which put her on his chest.

He would eventually regret this, but he hoped it wouldn't be soon.

"Do you often have sex on the first date?"

He put his hand in the back of her neck and pulled her close, linking their lips.

"I will give you a complaint form later."

She chuckled.

"I'm not complaining. Just pointing it out."

He turned her back onto her back and kissed her again, caressing her hair.

Well, he sure was a star at taking his sweet time. Not.

Now he understood, however, why his friends had jumped into this wagon so quickly with their partners. He had felt the attraction to Summer Edgecombe and had wanted to be with her on this level. He had once been judgmental about this sort of thing, but with her in his arms, all of that melted away.

They had a long way to go. But he hoped she would stick around.

* * *

 **A/N: See you later, alligator!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Here you go! This is the final chapter, but there is not a whole lot of plot here, basically just mindless fluff until the very last word. I hope you like it!**

 **Also, some of the things in this chapter might be unrealistic but I blame it on creative licenses. Hopefully it's doable!**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

 _ **'Dismissed'**_

 _ **Chapter 22**_

 _One month later_

Her intense anxiety was obvious to even the most incompetent observer in the country. Normally, he would mock her for this, but he decided that teasing her would only result in her retreating, so he didn't. He knew this was important to her. Therefore, he willed his teasing side to calm down, let her do her thing.

"This is different than speaking at their prom." He nodded, and she turned her head towards him. She had admitted to him that he had, indirectly, motivated her to start public speaking, something that she hadn't done ever since she had started working at the school, but prom had been nothing compared to this. Back then, it had only been the students and coworkers that she knew - now, it were them, and possibly hundreds of parents, family members and friends, all judging her. She knew they must expect a lot from her, wearing her academic regalia, proving to society that she knew her stuff.

He kissed her cheek, letting his hand wander on her hip briefly.

"I know you'll do well, just Lisbon," he whispered, and it was all she needed as final encouragement and she got on the stage, greeted by a big applause.

Jane smiled at her as she looked to him, then rushed to sit on his seat, ready to hear what she had prepared. He felt somewhat out of place in the midst of his friends, being the only one who wasn't wearing robes, but it was still logical. Besides, he didn't really deserve to wear them.

"Hey Cho," he said, sitting down. Cho didn't respond but he didn't have to. Cho was the only teacher, except for Lisbon, who willingly sat in the public part of the audience to accompany Jane. The latter man didn't know why, Teresa Lisbon was enough company, but he wasn't going to complain.

He noticed, right before Teresa started talking, that Cho was wearing a Master's hood - he wasn't aware that his quiet friend had had that high a degree. His own Teresa was even wearing a doctoral gown, not that he didn't know she was that highly educated, but it looked satisfying to him. It also made him just a bit sad, realizing she had so much time and money to get an Ed.D.

Perhaps, Jane realized, he wasn't the smartest person in the room. Then again, degrees didn't say everything.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I firstly want to thank all of you for attending this important milestone in the lives of the young people seated here in front of me. This ceremony is incredibly important to them, at least at this point in time, so we are all thankful that you are here."

The audience applauded and Jane saw Teresa look at the students. Some of them waved, and she adorably smiled back.

"Class of 2016. We are here to celebrate your accomplishments at this school. Therefore, congratulations are definitely well-deserved. I still remember the first year of teaching at this school, which was, regrettably, long before you were born. I was nervous about being responsible for the next generation of teachers, doctors, policemen or women, and so on, and so forth. I recall attending the graduation ceremony that year, and having failed to properly say goodbye to my first batch of students. I never missed a year since."

She switched from one leg to another, taking in another breath.

"I want to recap this year for you, because it has been quite a year. We started this year with a few minor setbacks that were leftovers from last year, but you overcame it. Soon, the first exam week showed up and most of you failed at least one of them, but you overcame it. Then, we had our camp. That was quite something, wasn't it?"

Everybody laughed, Jane included. If only these people knew what had happened for him and Teresa at the camp.

"Alice Forester broke her arm, which has healed quite nicely. John Winsten grew over his fear of cycling, and we were all proud. Dwayne Wilson finally made a move on his current girlfriend. All of you got closer to one another. Together, you overcame it. And now, you overcame High School. I look at all of you and I see what you have accomplished over the past four years. I have told you at your prom that these finals that you took do not reflect everything it means to be you, and I will stand by that, long after I retire. I saw you walking into this school, nervous and uncomfortable and honestly, maybe even a little awkward. All of you have had a lot to overcome, both relating to personal problems as well as school obstacles. But you did it. Look at you. You look wonderful, although it looks a bit embarrassing that you all chose the same attire."

Jane was probably the one who laughed the hardest, and he saw it did her well that her spontaneous joke was appreciated.

"Now, you have finished this chapter in your life. It might be scary to face a page in life that has not been spoiled yet, but I know you can do it." She swallowed. "If there is one thing that I want you to remember from my speech, it is both my great joke about your robes, and this: you will now write your own report cards, and you only have yourself to be held responsible for grading it. Do yourself a favor and be relentless, but also cut yourself some slack. You are your own teacher now, so treat yourself the way you want to be treated. It is okay to be skeptic and to have the need to be bigger and better than you once were, but you are granted an off-day every once in awhile.

"You will spread your wings, and you will leave your safe nest. I am honored to be the one pushing you out."

Another laugh spread through the hall.

"I want to talk about one more student, who unfortunately is not wearing the bland robes today, but who is in all of our hearts. She battled her personal demons this past year, and she managed to stay upright and looked at the world with her head held high. I have the highest respect for that. Shelby Ford, wherever you are seated, we are all proud of you, and we at Lakeside High School, are perhaps lucky to have you around for another year.

"Next, I want to draw the focus to our very own director, even if he has specifically told me not to do so. Mr. Dennis Abbott, every year since you commenced your demanding job as mother hen over four grades of students, you convinced us that you're a fine teacher and director. You do your job well, and I thank you for always sticking your beak in other people's businesses. I believe it has saved many a student over the years.

"Lastly, I will move on to my personal 'Get Well Be Well' wishes. I am horrible with words, so I dug up one of my favorite poems, and one which my professors at university have read- I mean, have made me read. It's 'It Couldn't Be Done' by Edgar Guest."

She moved to switch her notes, and looked at the audience once more.

" _Somebody said that it couldn't be done,  
_ _But he with a chuckle replied  
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one  
_ _Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.  
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin  
_ _On his face. If he worried he hid it.  
He started to sing as he tackled the thing  
_ _That couldn't be done, and he did it._

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;

 _At least no one ever has done it";  
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,  
_ _And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.  
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,  
_ _Without any doubting or quiddit,  
He started to sing as he tackled the thing  
_ _That couldn't be done, and he did it._

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

 _There are thousands to prophesy failure;  
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,  
_ _The dangers that wait to assail you.  
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,  
_ _Just take off your coat and go to it;  
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing  
_ _That "cannot be done," and you'll do it."_

Her reading of the poem earned her another applause, and by now, Jane was forever impressed by her speech.

"Some final words to wrap up this speech." She smiled and leaned over the wooden stand a bit to look at the first row of students. "You would think that a teacher with a doctorate in education would know how to write speeches, but I swear to God, you are the first who hear of my dusty old skills."

She straightened her back.

"I wish you all the best. I hope you will be able to pursue every dream you have ever had. I hope you will get to go to a good college or university, showing the professors there how truly talented you are. I hope you will find love, settle down, maybe even have some kids, if you want. But mostly, I hope you will be happy, every single day of the rest of your beautiful life. And while you are being the best version of yourself that you can be, I hope you might keep me in your thoughts, you dear old Ms. Lisbon, the same way as you will always be in mine."

She smiled, but Jane could see that she was getting emotional, just like she did at their prom.

"Thank you for the honor of addressing you. And congratulations again to the Lakeside High School Class of 2016."

She kissed her hand and waved all the love towards the entire audience, who stood up to give a standing ovation. Now, the tears escaped her eyes, but she was just fast enough to smile them away.

"Oh, by the way, yes, I will sign your yearbook. All of them, if I have to."

Abbott got up to thank her, and Jane felt proud, probably just like Teresa would always feel when looking at her previous students. And he realized that he had to share her love with them, but as he observed the students in the audience and the honored ones on stage, he found he didn't really mind. As long as their love stayed at school, and his love stayed in their cozy little family home, he was happy to share.

Abbott stepped towards the microphone. "I don't think I will be able to top that speech, so I won't even try. But I have one more thing to share with you tonight. As you all can recall, a couple of weeks ago I started a secret poll to determine one important thing: who is the Teacher of the Year 2016? Well, it is with great honor to announce that this year was a tie, and a surprising one at that. A pleasant one. Tied with Dr. Teresa Lisbon," which always earned him a death glare from aforementioned woman, "is Mr. Jason Wylie. Both have showed over the past year that despite personal setbacks, they care about the wellbeing of their students."

As Wylie tried to register this surprise, Jane glowed due to the pride he was feeling. He smiled at Cho, who was wearing the same emotion he wore every other day, but Jane noticed that he was looking somewhere else than the stage. When he tried to level his gaze with Cho's, Jane realized he was looking at a woman. Said woman in return waved at him, a sweet smile on her face. As she turned around, her almost silver-like hair flew over her shoulder, and Cho got a similar smile on his lips.

That sly old fox. Without Jane noticing, Cho had entered a relationship with a woman. Good for him.

It was almost hours later when he could finally talk to Teresa without everyone hearing them. She had been talking to students and parents, signing yearbooks like she had promised, and was generally having a good time. He imagined this single day in the year was the only one where Teresa Lisbon accepted that Dennis Abbott called her 'Dr.', and only he could call her that. If he knew his Teresa well, and he did, she was not one to brag about her accomplishments and had only been so highly educated because she wanted to be excellent at her job.

She smiled at him as they met after all those hours which he had spent just watching her, talking with some parents, and observing Cho's new love.

"Dr. Lisbon, huh?"

She rolled her eyes but kissed his lips anyway. "I want to kill him every single year he does that."

"You are wearing your doctoral gown, Teresa."

"I always hope people don't know what it means, and then there's Abbott to break that." She sighed. "I look ridiculous anyway, and don't tell me I don't. I worked hard for it, though, so I wear it with pride."

He chuckled, and took some of the fabric in his hands, pulling her close.

"Well in any case, I like 'just Lisbon' more." He kissed her, running his hands through her hair, caressing her cheeks. "And Mrs. Jane."

She smiled. Unbeknownst to almost everybody, he and Teresa had gotten married in secret, not wanting to draw any attention to them, just wanting to enjoy each other. The only people who knew were their witnesses, Kimball Cho and Dennis Abbott. Perhaps they would tell others, but he was far too happy being with her like this, and not have prying eyes on them.

Eventually though, he knew, the joy and pride of being her husband would overcome everything else - he wanted the world to know that she was taken, and that she was his.

"I have a surprise for you," she whispered.

She looked into his eyes, then took his hands in hers, pulling him with her, as they walked outside. By then, it was dark outside, and everybody had been gathering on the school's football field, for the ending of the formalities of the graduation ceremony.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

Just as she looked up, they heard the first firework set off their journey to the sky for all of them to see. For the first time, he didn't hold back kissing her in public, not caring anymore that maybe it was better to keep their relationship secret to the entire school. Most people already knew that they were together anyway.

She rubbed her nose against his, smiling from ear to ear.

"I'm so happy."

"Me too."

She took one of his hands and put it on her belly, bringing her lips close to his ear.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered, and he could sense she was holding back a smile, waiting for his response.

It took forever to register what she had just told him, and even when it did, he doubted he had heard her correctly.

She couldn't have possibly said that she was pregnant, right?

He pulled away and looked her in the eye. He saw tears forming there, and fear that he might run, but he could never.

"No, you're kidding."

"I'm not kidding."

She watched his face as he let the realization sink in.

"You are?"

She nodded, tears now escaping her eyes.

"I am."

And he let go of everything that was ever holding him back from anything. He let out a hopefully happy giggle, and she did, too.

He pulled her close and buried his face in her hair, almost hugging her into his soul.

But she was already there, had been there for months now. And every time he expected his world to fall back to shambles, he was hit by yet another wave of happiness, drowning out any doubts or fears that might have been left.

"Oh, I love you so," he whispered, hoping that she knew there were many, many more words that should accompany them, those four words not doing what he felt for her any justice, but those were the only ones he knew to say at that point in time.

"I love you, too."

Perhaps he deserved to be happy too for once in his life. He would be honored if that meant making her happy, the rest of her beautiful life.

Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon's husband, father of her unborn child. It had a nice ring to it.

* * *

 **A/N: Alright! Thanks so much for all your kind words and support, I really appreciate it and I'm forever grateful! Drop me a line, if you can!**

 **Dismissed is OUT, thank you!**


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